I finally have a yellow coneflower that returns each year and looks better each year! It's the original Ozark Coneflower, Echinacea Paradoxa. If you don't have this one, you must get it! It's the first in my garden to bloom this year. Here is a photo of one of the blooms. They are going to be loaded this year!
The petals haven't fully flattened yet, but in a day or two they should be and I'll post some more photos. These plants have really surprised me. They are thriving in the exact bed in which Harvest Moon and Sunrise bit the dust. They are much better plants than those two. I'm pretty sure "Mac 'N Cheese" can't out perform these babies either.
I agree with you that they are going to be good performers. I ordered two of them last fall and they were/are labeled "Ozark" Echinacea because they originated in the Ozark regions of Arkansas & Missouri. They have gotten very large in size for me but really haven't started to bloom yet down here. I've only had one bloom so far but it was pretty. The foliage is also very different on these ones. I still like "Harvest Moon" the best of the yellow/gold colored Echinaceas but would have to agree that Ozark Coneflower will probably be a much better bloomer.
Jon
I planted 3 plants today that I know are a cross between Paradoxa and my other coneflowers. The leaves look like a regular purple coneflower. I can't wait to see the blooms on them.
I can't either. When you do cross two existing cultivators are the blooms on the crosses the same or do they vary? The only hybridizing/crossing I'm a little familiar with is Tropical Hibiscus and the crosses seem to always be consistent.
Jon
Jon,
They vary a lot. I have a strange plant that came from a Pink Double Delight seed. It has the ugliest blooms I've ever seen. They are curly and twisted. I'll have to post a picture of it when it blooms. I think people would get a good laugh. I started to trash it, but I just couldn't. LOL.
I know what you mean. Sometimes blooms can be so ugly they're almost beautiful. You do have to post the ugly one though so we can all come up with a name for it. LOL
Another good thing about this plant is you can grow it from seeds and don't have to pay outrageous prices for it. It also returns each year!
Mac 'N Cheese and Harvest Moon, eat your heart out! They don't compare to these. Those weak, sickly things!
To each his own. I actually like Mac N Cheese and Harvest Moon better so far. My two Excinacea "Ozark" are still fairly new since they were grown from seed last fall. It's just a "wait and see" how they grow bloom over the season. My "Harvest Moon" has been one of the best performers for me so far over the first 1 1/2 years. Perhaps its just a healthy plant or is in a better location compared to some of the others. All of those factors have to be part of the equation I would think.
Jon
Jon,
Maybe Harvest Moon likes it there because the winters are warmer. The problem with them here is they aren't winter hardy. They come back weaker and smaller or don't come back at all. I'm in Zone 7 and they don't perform well here at all. My favorite nursery isn't carrying them anymore because so many people complained. Tikki Torch isn't hardy here either. I planted 4 and only 1 returned.
My paradoxa were planted from seeds 3 years ago. This year they decided to impress me. These take longer to establish, but they are tough as nails.
You could be right. I'm not sure. They really are not supposed to perform at all here in South Florida (Zone 10) and none of the local nurseries/garden centers sell them (they were all grown from seed or acquired online). My "Tiki Torch" sucked (LOL) last year, but is more promising this year. I really do believe there are other factors that go into the equation of how well a plant does. Sometimes the plant received isn't all that healthy and it's gonna be a struggle right from the beginning. The ones in my backyard probably are not getting enough sun so they don't perform as well. If I let the weeds grow a bit too much I also see a decline in performance. All I'm saying is that there seems to be many other factors that go into the equation of success. Believe me, I've made plenty of mistakes along the way and it's been several attempts at some of these cultivators to obtain some success. My first "Harvest Moon" was a failure because I watered it too much. The second one has been much better...so far.
Jon
echinaceamaniac
Im in a much colder zone then you and have had no issues with harvest moon? Tiki Torch Is a much diffrent story!
I think there were some problems with the tissue culture of harvest moon when I got mine. I had some for two years. The second year they were smaller and had quilled petals. I also don't like the way the blooms fade so quickly.
