I thought I'd ask everyone to share their echinacea winners and losers. Which plants are absolute must-haves in your garden? Which ones have failed to impress you?
Here's my (short, so far) list...
WINNERS:
Pink Double Delight (this plant is my absolute favorite--blooms its fool head off!)
Coconut Lime (a very close second to PDD)
Magnus (oldie but a goodie!)
LOSERS:
Big Sky series (Sundown and Twlight did not grow well for me and produced few blooms)
Winners:
1.) Pink Double Delight (I agree! - It's the best Echinacea currently available)
2.) Razzmatazz - It's taller than Pink Double Delight, but still dependable and has bigger blooms.
3.) Meringue - Fluffy blooms are much bigger than blooms of Coconut Lime.
4.) Coconut Lime - I still like this one. 100% returned for me this year.
5.) Echinacea Paradoxa - It's very reliable for me and the best yellow in my opinion. Seeds are readily available too!
6.) Echinacea Tennesseensis - Awesome with long bloom season. Returns each year. Shorter than the others too. Easily grown from seeds.
7.) Echinacea Pallida - I actually think this is the most interesting Echinacea of all. It does not like too much water so a fungicide is sometimes required to get blooms here. It's worth the trouble though. Easily grown from seeds too!
Losers:
1.) Big Sky Series - From Sunrise to Sundown they are a disaster waiting to happen. Distorted and twisted petals seem to be common. I was at a nursery yesterday and couldn't find one plant of Sundown without distorted petals.
2.) Green Envy - This is the ugliest Echinacea I've ever grown.
Undecided:
1.) Tiki Torch - The first year only 25% returned after winter. I'm going to give it another chance since the color is the best!
2.) Pink Poodle - This plant isn't stable and many times the plant is a Double Decker and not a Pink Poodle, but I still like the ones that look like they should!
This message was edited Aug 11, 2009 5:54 PM
Well all I have left are two..
White Swan is a WINNER!!
Harvest Moon...LOSER...mine has the deformed petals on some blooms. Not what I want in a plant I paid about $20- 25 for! Big Sky series was a disaster fro me ....but I loved the colors!
I should've added a "Jurry's Still Out" category. In that category I'd list Green Envy. I think this one may be a little overrated. Blooms have been sparse for me, and not really as vividly colored as I usually see them described. It did seem pretty hardy, though. I left the plant behind at my old house, so I'm not sure how it's doing this year, but it did come back last year.
So far this year
Loser
Harvest moon, some buds have petals, some don't, some have half. I chopped all but one nice bloom off today. maybe they will come back nicer.
Winner
Pixie meadowbrite perfect/lots of blooms, stems and leaves.
Still waiting on Sundown and Sunrise lots of blooms on both but not expecting much.
WINNERS: Merlot, very robust plant, year two.
Tiki Torch, very robust plant, doubled in size,beefy stems and 20 plus large buds
Purity , also increased in size and strength year two
Ruby Giant always a good one
Fatal Attraction, was slow to get going but is coming on strong now, many stems
year two
Coconut Lime, first to have a bloom, many stems and buds, year three
Pink Double Delight, also year two, was slow to start but many stems and buds
Sunrise, in its 5th year and doing well even after being moved, tall growth and many
bud
Pink Poodle. first year but has several side shoots, strong stem growth and several
large buds so far
JURY STILL OUT: Primadonna is slow to get going, started as a small plant and gh attacked but
came through the winter and is now growing better
Green Envy same as above
Harvest Moon ,year three was nice last year but has been moved and is sulking
LOSERS: Twilight, never made it to year two, twice
After Midnight, just faded away first season
Summer Sky was very nice strong plant with lots of blooms but disappeared over the
third winter
Hope , this one made me sad, nice strong growth and large blooms, two plants didn't return, well
one sent up a leaf and then died
I must add that except for CL there are no blooms to judge yet this year. Also the weather has been cool if not downright cold for June and a lack of sunny days with lots of drizzle and showers for days on end, another one today and forecast for the next 4 or 5 days as well. Yuck!
This message was edited Jun 19, 2009 10:07 AM
I'd like to add "Coral Reef" to my loser list. This plant wouldn't grow for me at all. I tried two different plants. Both died a slow painful death.
I'd like to add "Tomato Soup" to my winner list, pending winter survival. LOL.
Aw, I'm sad to hear about Coral Reef. I was actually pretty intrigued by that one. I love the doubles. It seems as though most of the doubles have been winners so far, like Coconut Lime, PDD, Razzmatazz, and Meringue. I'll be waiting to hear more about Coral Reef to see if yours was just an isolated thing, or if this one's really a dud. :(
Winners:
Sundown (tons came back and are very healthy)
Summer ((tons came back and are very healthy)
After Midnight (very strong and healthy, but this is the first year, so so far so good)
Kim's Knee High (back with a vengeance!)
Tomato Soup (doing well, but first year)
Coconut Lime (doing well, but first year)
Losers:
Harvest Moon (out of six to eight plants, only 3 are left that didn't either melt away in the spring or have irregular quilled petals)
Jury's Still Out:
Twilight (some of them look like Summer, I can't tell the difference this year and they were close in color last year, but there was still a difference! Those are doing well, though. Also, some of these melted away in the Spring).
Tiki Torch (too early to tell, first year but the large specimen is doing well)
Green Jewel (first year, but is doing well)
Mac N Cheese (still hasn't bloomed yet, first year, can't tell)
Elton Night (too early to tell, first year but it seems to have great potential so far)
Update...Both of my Coral Reef plugs died completely. My plugs of Mac n Cheese, Tomato Soup, Green Envy, Flame Thrower and Green Eyes all look fine. There is something about Coral Reef that makes it more difficult to keep alive. Yikes!
After midnight is still my favorite. This plant is three years old. I love the dark cone and dark stem.
I also love razzamatazz. My sunset from last year have doubled in size, and look great. Summer sky is still have problems with silvery leaves, but the blooms look wonderful.
I also really love white coneflowers - swan, and baby swan.
This is sunset. They were plugs in last year's coop.
Anyone have experience with Pixie Meadowbright? I saw it today at a garden center and it was really cute. Almost picked it up, except that my sun garden won't really be ready until next year and I didn't know where to put it for the time being.
pennefeather - That After Midnight is beautiful. I've had mine for three years too. They are the best of the Big Sky bunch. They don't grow as well for me here but I do appreciate their color. Mine are kind of dwarf-looking and not the big tall plants in your photos but I still like them.
Kayly - I don't have Pixie Meadowbrite, but one of my friends has it and she loves it. That is one of my plants I have on the list for next year or possibly this fall. It's beautiful and has tons of blooms. I've never heard one bad thing about that one. Can we get a co-op of this one too? NotMartha?
After midnight is a dwarf. Mine are about 18 - 24". These are the perfect size for a walkway. I just love the dark cone.
Tough to pick winners and losers. So much is based on how they currently look. When they're blooming well they're all winners. I'll limit my current list to 5 in each category and consider the rest as unknown yet...or somewhere in the middle.
Winners
Sundown (my best most consistent bloomer)
Harvest Moon (really performing well this year...so so last year)
Hope (performing consistently well last year and this year)
Coconut Lime (new plant this year but grows and blooms fast and well)
Primadonna White (this baby just worked her way into the top 5!!!)
Looooosers (How About "Less Than Ideal") LOL
Sunrise (Not impressive this year and last)
Virgin (I'm 0 for 2 growing this one)
Green Jewel (2 plants and both have been slow growers with few blooms)
Pink Parasol (bloomed "so so" last year and neither of the 2 overwintered)
Fatal Attraction (both years plant has looked less than ideal most of the time with few blooms)
I put Echinacea "Sundown" as my best performer as I thought it had been blooming since April. When I looked back at photos earlier this year it actually started blooming in February. Six months of good steady blooming is a pretty good thing.
Wow it must like warm temps. Maybe that's why it didn't stay around here very long. LOL
I just think I got lucky and have a stronger than average plant. I took this photo on March 1st so I know it was blooming in February. It generally keeps on blooming here until October or November the last two years.
Jon
Nice garden, Jon! I like the dahlias mixed in. How long do the pansies last for you. I deadheaded mine and got them to last until the beginning of July then had to rip them out. Not bad for around here.
Very nice bed. I will have to get my head wrapped around the idea of pansies and dahlias blooming at the same time with echies in Feb. and March. Your gardens always look so neat and tidy too. I am still waiting for the snow and soil to defrost and hoping for an early spring to start clean-up.. LOL
Thanks. Here's a better picture of them from March 30. They are Pansies "Majestic Giant Marina" and "Majestic Giant Blue & White". I deadhead mine every two of three days. A lot of work. I start them from seed in early Sept and get them planted by early/mid Nov. They look good until early to mid May and then quickly decline.
Okay, am I the only one whose PDD flops???
That's what I like about winter gardening down here. Pretty much "the skies the limit" down here and you can plant just about anything. That "Sundown" echinacea blooms so much earlier compared to all the others I have. It has done that the past two winters. Thick mulch is the key for keeping down the weeds.
Hey Victor! Mine is in year two and still standing tall so far even with the rotten weather. It has just started blooming here. It is in full sun(when the sun is shinning that is), and in similar soil conditions as the lavender 'Provence' that is next to it. Maybe too rich soil you have there.It is very pretty even horizontal though. :)
I've had a two flop in wind and rain. One looked like it was rotting so I pulled it. One the other I used a couple of garden stakes, just around it, to hold it upright until it corrected itself.
Hi Pat! Great to 'see' you. Possible - though I have never amended it.
Here's one more March photo of pansies on the side of the house. These are Pansy "Karma True Blue".
I'm liking After Midnight.
Yep, the unique stem color of "After Midnight". Nice
Those both look like winners to me. So full and compact. Pansies are one of those flowers that make you smile every time you see them.
And, so far, no flopping. I like this combo with DL Persian Shield.
How do you guys like Coconut Lime??
Nice Victor. I think I will have to give them another try. My first plant pooped out on me, just kinda wasted away. Yours looks very happy and healthy.
Duh - just went back and read. You do like it!
That's what happened to Twilight with me.
Love that CL. First to bloom here every year. Flowers last a long long time. It's a winner I think. Posted a pic on another thread. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1013502/
Pink Poodle looks nice. How tall??
About 36". I cannot say that anything is growing how it will average out because our weather has been so nutty this year so far. It is about what they say it will be. I think 30"-36" is what it should be. Seems strong, now if it makes it through a nasty winter will be the real test.
The nasty summer is first!
