A lot of new coneflowers to go with a lot of old standbys now. Who gets the best marks for this season in your garden. I would have to say a new one, 'Coconut Lime' because of plant vigor, amount of bloom and staying power of the flowers.
Overall best preformer this season
Love this one the moment I saw it this year. Wonder if the seed will come true?
Arlene
how tall did your Coconut Lime grow?
I've got a new one, waiting to be planted, and haven't decided yet where to put it
judy
sammi, I have two of them, one got bunny pruned and is about 2' tall now. The other is 30" tall. Both are loaded with blooms.
How long did they bloom, ngam?
I was happy with Coconut Lime, I got it late and it got a few nice flowers on it.
my list for Victor(and ngam)
varieties I am pleased with and recommend:
Ruby Giant
Hope
Fatal Attraction
Pixie Meadowbright
Mango Meadowbright
Fragrant Angel
Primadonna White
Primadonna Deep Rose
Sunrise
Razzmatazz
Fancy Frills
Green Envy
Magnus
Rocky Top
Coconut Lime
varieties that warrant a spot in your garden, but not featured areas:
Twilight
Green Eyes
Rasberry Punch
Prairie Frost
Orange Meadowbright
The King
Jade
Paradoxa
Pallida
Sparkler
varieties that are fine if you get them for free:
Sundown
Harvest Moon
After Midnight
Sunset
Those are for echinacea and strictly my opinions - be them not humble. Rudbeckias are great for yellow - Henry Eilers is a better plant overall than any of the above.
The official winner as the top echinacea for me is Ruby Giant
what is it you like so much about Henry Eilers ?
It comes up every year without me wondering if it made it through or not, foliage stays perfect all year, puts out a LOT of flowers and all of them perfect. Almost all of the echies above lack one of those 4 features.
Thanks Al. What - no colors and sizes??
It started blooming mid july and that first flower went by the boards only about 10 days ago. It is loaded with flowers and is still putting out buds. These were new this year and bunny nibbled early on as I said, so they may have bloomed sooner otherwise. Both plants are doing equally well so I would say this cultivar is a good doer. :)
Thanks Al for your great lists. Some of these new ones can be quite pricey so having the benefit of other peoples experience is so valuable.
Hi Al, Wow! Impressive list of plants. I went conecrazy last year and purchased all the new Big Sky series and a few more, however with the heat here in Georgia only one or two made an appearance this year. Only time I'm ever jealous of colder gardening zones. LOL I am saving seeds from all my coneflowers this year just incase.
Happy gardening,
Arlene
Al, have you tried Lilliput?
No, I would be interested in some reviews of it.
Short reviews.
I forgot who said they had that one and/or Little Giant , back in the earlier megathread I think.
I only have one flower on Coconut Lime right now - not too bad looking.
Fragrant Angel opened up late and looks like this today.
Is it really fragrant? How tall are Coconut and FA?
You're asking me.LOL Smells like flower spirit I guess.
Coconut Lime is only a foot tall for me since it was my latest bought.
Oh yeah I forgot your 'old factories' are closed.
It would have to be as fragrant as lilacs,privet or monarda for me to smell it - so it's less than them.
Do you smell skunks? Seriously though, can you smell a gas leak if your house had one?
I smell gases fine - except my own of course ;)
Petrochemicals I can smell a mile away.
Too many years in the pesticide business most likely.
valrita
Sep 16, 2007
I have the same issue with not being able to smell things but I was born that way. In my early 30's I started to be able to detect some scents--it was (and still is) amazing. But I still can only detect strong scents like hyacinths, some roses and some lilies. It's unusual to hear of others who can't detect scents.
I tried Fragrant Angel this year hoping to be able to detect a fragrance but I couldn't. Hubby said it has a very light scent.
Al -- Any particular reason for those you list as "fine if you get them for free"? Is it because their colors fade? Or something else?
Maybe if After Midnight makes it through the winter it will be better, but it flowered a little and went down hill from there to barely alive. Sundown and Sunset lack hardiness,flowers are deformed and the colors fade to less of a purple than Magnus fairly fast. Harvest Moon fades to look like Sunrise fairly fast and for me was not as tough. I try not to be negative about plants - just if they don't perform as well as others - not personal taste.
Others can add their opinions too I hope.
someone asked about Lilliput
I bought 2 - still in pots - haven't planted them in the garden yet
hope they work for a short one
Sammi, your liliput is nice looking. I hope it makes it through the winter okay.
I bought coconut lime about a month ago, and put it in my new coneflower bed. I decided not to deadhead any of the blooms, because I wanted it to go to seed. It wasn't until today that it occured to me that it probably wouldn't bloom true.
Although I love the color of sunset, it has been hit hard by powdery mildew. The same is true of After Midnight. The flowers bloom normally, but the leaves look terrible.
I'm still waiting for Razzamatazz to bloom. I think the blanketflower is smothering it to death. I need to cut some more of it back.
My favorites this year are 'Fragrant Angel' and 'Ruby Star' (below). Kim's Knee (Butt?) High is also very nice, though much taller than expected, LOL. My only disappointing Echinacea this year has been Sunset - it has deformed petals.
Joanne
Is it too late to plant coconut lime coneflower? I just received four of them.
Up here fall is a good time for planting perennials as long as they have a decent root system. I would say down there you have time for it to settle in fine. Keep it watered but don't drown it and give it good drainage it should be okay. Maybe some one closer to your zone can be more helpful.
You know, rusty...I've just planted some other cones here in 7b. Despite some fairly cold nights, they are doing great...Hope you went ahead and planted yours.
I agree with ngam. Fall is a great time to plant!
I really enjoyed this thread, thanks everyone. I wondered where you can buy all those varieties that are in BCal's list. Oh I guess I should look in Davesgarden shouldn't I :o) ?. I have only grown the seed packet ones from HD or Lowes. They were Magnus and a white one which finally died after a few years.
Bigcityal, you're king of the coneflowers!! I value your opinion.
I add Vintage Wine to your list. It's a gorgeous color, but not a vigerous reseeder. I wish it was. It does seem to have reseeded true last fall., or at least my stem count increased.
