good article
I like the article but don't agree with it. We all know there are Echinaceas that are duds. Some of them aren't hardy. I also have a Razzmatazz that is about ten years old! Lol.
yeah... they obviously have a side to the whole thing. At least they are telling the nurseries to cut off first year blooms in lieu of wanting them to sell that first year (but not make it through the winter). Also... I would love to have some of the new ones make it 7 years before croaking.
I can't wait for next spring, i pulled up all my echinaceas... amended the entire beds down to 12" and removed a lot of cruddy fill dirt.... so now they won't have just individually amended large holes like i use to do. Hopefully this will cut back on any winter kill from rot on the newer ones i got this year. I specifically have a "now cheesier" that i got as a plug in the spring. It started to send up the single stem and try to flower. (tell tale sign that it will die in the winter). I have been cutting off all the buds as i see them (and it sure did try)... and after doing that for a few months it finally sent up more basal side shoots. It now has 3 growth points. If it makes it through, then the bed amending work was worth the pain.
Interesting!
Well I live in Washington state and keeping the plants dry in winter!! Right!
Also, I do believe that planting early is the key. However, the nurseries around here use them for eye candy in the fall or late summer in hopes you will buy. They are in full bloom for fast sales. That means that many people will fail because they don't go in the ground to make the roots they need.
Also around here you have little luck in finding these plants early in the season because they are not in bloom. Would a nusery cut blossoms off to help the plant? Most people shop for color.
I think some are just destain to die because they were not tested enough in the haste to bring the new one to market.
Thats just my take. Have had one cone thrive and another die that were side by side. I like to buy plugs, baby in the greenhouse all winter, then plant out around mothers day. I shall see what survives this winter with that theory.
I still love all the new ones and will keep experimenting with them.
When you know the person who wrote the article sells the plants that tells you a lot. People are reporting failed Echinaceas because many of the hybrids do fail. I've planted them in early Spring and they failed. I've had pink seedlings come up in the fall that overwintered. I've planted some varieties in the fall that over wintered with no problem. The article sugar coats valid complaints that many very experienced gardeners have with hybrid Echinaceas. The local nursery had tons of new Mac n Cheese and Maui Sunshine...Everyone knows those plants are duds. Beware of articles written defending a product, especially by someone who sells the product!
So true!
My Maui Sunshine died also and I only saw two weak flowers all summer. I paid 17.95 for the plant. Next year I will just grow from seed. I have some Pow Wow berry and I would like to buy some of the new ones called 'Cheyenne Spirit.' Do you know where I can buy them??
it would be interesting if nurseries actually did cut all the first year blooms though... just to see how they compare to the ones that let them flower all they want.
Every coneflower I have is in raised beds before I started doing that I would lose every one due to wet roots in the winter and gophers and because of the horror stories about the newer hybrids I never tried any new one until this year and they did very well thru the most trying summer ever..
... ooh... could be a good test. So you haven't had any of the newer ones in the raised bed through winter yet though?
Seed varieties are the way to go. They are so much better. I think Cheyenne Spirit seeds will be available in November.
I will try those too... do you know who will sell them?
more... and more are coming...
http://www.darwinplants.com/site/genus.asp?GenusId=Echinacea
I grew Magic box seeds this spring and everyone of those that has flowerered is the standard pink/purple. A nice color but the picture in the seed catalog showed a rainbow of colors. Red, orange, yellow and a few pink.
Got me again. Anyone get other results? The plants look just like the seeds I saved for free.
It is best to save your own seeds if possible, at least you know they are fresh and that means good germination rate.
I will keep my eye out for that 'Cheyenne Spirit'. Also I have some seed from the PowWow Berry, I would like to get a summer fun next year, maybe I can collect some seed from that as well.
Magic Box isn't as good as Cheyenne Spirit. I think Swallowtail Garden Seeds will have Cheyenne Spirit before winter. I have some Magic Box opening right now and one of them is looking like a good bi-color bloom!
Cheyenne Spirit is the best looking seed variety I've ever seen!
Cheyenne Spirit sounds real good to me, just what I've been looking for. Thanks for the information, I will keep my eye on 'Swallowtail Garden Seeds' when they come out I will get them. Did you get any seeds from your Hot Summer?
This message was edited Oct 2, 2011 2:17 PM
It doesn't come true from seeds, but I could save you some to try.
That's very nice of you! Well, at least you got some seeds. Are you going to try it sense you have them. I have Red Knee High and PowWow berry, I will try those and the Cheyenne Spirit, let me know how it goes and I will do the same. I bought eight Coneflowers and that's the only two that had seeds. I am hoping a few will come back up. That Big Sky Sundown was a dud. To your knowledge does anything come true from seed besides the PowWow berry??
I have a question. When I here that a plant has been growing and blooming and healthy for years, I wonder if has just decided that it like where it is and how it's treated. I was wondering if seeds from such well established plants are more likely to be healthier and maybe more ease of growth. I know this is probably sounding silly, but we all know someone who has planted the saddest looking plant that looks one breath away from death. They plant it somewhere, give it the same care as everything around it. Next thing you know it takes, and is the start of the show. I'm new at this but I had good luck with my cone seeds even though I planted them at the end of August and we have had several frosty mornings. It's still blooming and looks happy. I don't think it's anything I did, the plant wanted to live and has done just that. I wonder if some of the newer kinds have not had the time to get really strong and older so maybe the seeds aren't as strong willed.
Well it does seem that some people have better luck with certain plants. I read that certain coneflowers require a certain range for the PH, so might be a good idea to have it tested if your bad luck continues. Certain coneflowers do poorly for everybody, I think the mac & cheese was like that, if you hear every body say it bloomed and died, there is a problem. Don't listen if someone is boasting about a plant they have only had for a week, because they don't really know what it's going to do. I read that coneflowers like it sunny and hot, and if you have them in part shade they will be leggy and weak and will not flower much. So the first thing to do is choose the most sunny, hot spot you have for the coneflowers.
Is Cheyenne Spirit out yet?
susan