Echinacea Species, Tennessee Coneflower

Seeds can be stubborn to germinate, requiring light and cool conditions for best results. Seedlings are slow growing, but thrive in a wel...Read Morel drained medium with direct morning sun and bright ambient light thereafter. Mature plants develop a taproot and are relatively drought tolerant, but seedlings appreciate regular watering and the occasional application of half-strength fertilizer. When well cared for, seedlings seem unfazed by being outdoors throughout a hot summer. I have yet to lose any young plants when following this simple regimen. Mature plants have done better when treated to a layer of leaf mulch to preserve soil moisture.

The Tennessee coneflower has been removed from the federal endangered species list.

Tennessee Coneflower:

This US native perennial performs very well in dry situations with a full sun aspect. Flowers seem t...Read Moreo last for quite some time giving way to a long bloom period. Ray floret arrangement reminds of an umbrella upturned from strong gust of wind. Dry seed heads attract some birds, noticeably American Goldfinch (Spinus tristus), and moths and butterflies. Plant slowly spreads and not over-aggressive as some native plants can sometimes tend to grow. Overall--along with so many native plants--a wonderful one!

I do have this planted in my miniature prairie garden: all plants in this garden are native prairie plants either from the US plains, central US, and/or from Missouri. None require nothing more than a modicum of care in spring: fertilizer, a light mulch, and maybe culling or spraying the occasional non-native weed that has popped up.

Tennessee Coneflower is currently growing in a rocky, clay, compacted soil among Callirhoe involucrata, Aster ericoides, Salvia azurea, Calamagrostis canadensis, Manfreda virginica, among others.

I purchased six small plants in 2.5" pots from Sunlight Gardens in 2005. I failed to protect them from rabbits and lost 4. The remainin...Read Moreg two have grown into a nice size clump nearly 1.5' across. They are shorter than most coneflowers with pretty, daisy-like, pink flowers that are open rather than cone-shaped. Bloom season is a little longer than for purple coneflowers such as Kim's knee high and magnum. Aside from being very vulnerable to rabbits (liquid fence spray has worked for me), they are a tough. Mine are in afternoon sun behind my garage and don't get watered often.