Hi I was in another forum posting pictures and they told me that there was something wrong with my coneflower and I might need to dig it up and get rid of it. So I thought I could get an answer from this forum that is just on coneflowers. I planted this last spring and it didn't really do anything last year but this year it just took off. Here is a picture of what they are talking about is this something I sould be worried about and if so what do I do? Please help.
Breeze1947
Here is another picture of it I know we had a really bad summer here and a lot of my other plants are showing it could that be the problem? I bought through the mail and paid so much money for it last year when they first came out.
Breeze1947
We have had a lot of weird weather here too. I am certainly no expert and many others here may have better advice. The cone is going green but does not look like a disease to me. I have found some of the newer coneflowers, usually that don't set many seeds, are doing this when the bloom is well past it's prime this year. If the rest of the plant looks okay I would not worry.
Thank you so much I didn't want to go dig them up and get rid of them. I keep going out and looking at them I see nothing on my other coneflowers that could be disease even these look healthy to me other then they look like they are done blooming and the hot and humid weather may have played a part in the way they look.
Breeze1947
My Green Envy started out perfectly this year and I was so pleased. I put it in last summer. But I was moving plants this Spring because I a cazillion volunteers and the Green Envy need to be with the taller coneflowers. For the rest of the summer mine looked like the one you pictured. But I'm sure it will settle in and be fine next year.I just keep deadheading the goofy blooms and let the plant grow. I've seen several oddities this year and I just leave them alone and they come around. One of my Harvest Moon had blooms down inside the plant about two inches high while another one (beside it) had two foot stems on the blooms. The crap we go through for our coneflowers!
I would say that is mite damage/infestation. You will see this on any type of echinacea. I had a few plants last year that did this. Pull the flowers off and discard (not in compost). In the fall when you are putting the beds to sleep, remove all plant matter above ground and the surrounding mulch and discard as well. (this is where the eggs overwinter)
Those same plants have flowered fine this year.
There has been recent posts about mite issues, so read on.
