I was at Lowe's yesterday. They had some nice Meringue and Sunset echinacea for $10.98. Best thing is they have a 1 yr. warranty, so if they don't come up next yr. you get your $$ back. Just remember to save your receipt.

I agree Lowe's always has them every summer in gallon pots for about ten dollars.

Best place to find large, robust plants is your local nurserys (and by this I do not mean box stores). Please support your local economy.

I support my locals as much as I can but sometimes they don't have what I want. I shop local more than the big boxes though!

Do you want coneflowers with the natural 'cone' shaped flowers, or ones that look more like daisies? Those are the two choices among the reliable pink echinaceas. The cone shaped ones are still probably going to be unimproved species types. The flat ones are among the oldest 'improved' echinaceas. Magnus is a good, solid performer. I have a lot of Bravado, which is a seedling strain I started several years ago. A similar white is White Swan, which I wouldn't call really difficult, but it has been a weaker grower than the pinks in my experience.

These are not finicky plants, or particularly rare ones. Among mail order places, well Bluestone carries them. Depending on where you are in Ohio, among non-mail order places, well Bluestone carries them. If for some reason you want larger plants than that, I fully expect these to be the perennial equivalent of tomato starts. Practically everybody has them, there is some difference in quality and price, and none of this is something a national forum is really in a position to be of much help about.

Check all your local nurserys, i found a very nice 3ft. Magnus yesterday for $8.99. It has 20 buds on it. That is a White Swan on the left, i pd. $4.99 for that.
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I have alot of cone flowers most were planted only by taking the entire seed head and shoving in the ground. They make a sturdier plant as multiple come up in one place and not just one stem. Right now i am pulling some out and just throwing away as i have more than i want. if interested i would mail you some plants. If they don't make it you are out nothing. Most of mine are at least 2' tall some taller. I do have pink purple and white. until they bloom not sure of color as they are all over here. I did just purchase an orange/yellow one.

Postal Blonde, i would be interested in some of those plants. I just started collecting echs. this spring. Let me know how much postage is, you can send me the info. to my e-mail- eps125@dejazzd.com. I will take any echinacea that you do not want.

I support my local nursery and if I ever come across certain plants I'm looking for she will either get them from another grower (if possible) or in the past she has taken my orders for plants I would like for the following year.

Thanks Mayhem69! I went to Lowes today in Jackson, TN and got a gallon-sized Meringue Echinacea for 12 dollars! Having the warranty for one year is awesome comfort when trying new plants.

I believe in supporting your local nursery too, but some of you act like it's a mortal sin to buy a plant at Lowes which is insane. Do you own a nursery or something? LOL.

As someone who has lost his share of coneflowers bought at a local nursery with no warranty on them, I think it's time to demand they match Lowes' guarantee.

I think I will try my local nursery. I have bought MANY plants at my local garden centers as well as at Lowe's and Home Depot. I just haven't had any luck with any echinacea's I have bought mail order, so it's high time I try locally :)
BTW echinaceamaniac, my Mac&Cheese still looks bad and very tiny! Not any better.

My Mac n Cheese still looks tiny too. It's a pathetic excuse of a coneflower.

Ech: No I don't own a nursery, but I am firm believer in supporting the locally owned (or at least state owned) businesses. Especially here in Michigan where the economy is in the crapper. If one doesn't support local independents (no matter the type of business), one does not have the right to b*tch and complain when nothing is left in the area except a big homogenous blob of a community. Of course it isn't always possible to buy from a local or state-owned business, but it is my first choice if possible. :0)

BTW: As I mentioned, many independent nurseries *do* offer a warranty. I'm sorry the ones in your area do not, though (but are you sure they don't?)....

Around my neck of the wood here in Pa. the nurseries DO NOT offer a warranty on perennials. Just trees and shrubs.
i've bought plants from HD , Lowes, and local nurseries. I've returned probably 20 plants back to HD in the last 8 yrs. due to a problem area on my property. That receipt saved me at least $160. The fact that a nursery is local or family owned does not sway my decision on plant buying. If that particular vendor has something i want for a good price, i will buy it. I am not paying $28 for a 3 ft. high Sunrise Echinacea in a 1 gallon pot just because it is from my local nursery, WITHOUT A WARRANTY. Heck, Lowes and HD probably get some of their plants from the same growers the nurseries do. I did ask the garden manager at Lowes about that and he said he orders from local growers.

I do own a nursery. And I believe in supporting my local economy. After all, my customers support me.
Most of the echinacea I sell are field grown plants - absolutely huge two gallon plants with multiple eyes. New echinaceas like Mac 'n Cheese, and Tomato Soup are in one gallon pots. Customers know and understand these are new plants and untested yet.
But I went out to look at them yesterday, and they are filling their pots nicely. I am pleased with their growth and will offer them for sale soon.
Our nursery carries about 2,000 varieties of perennials. Offering a one year guarantee would be financial suicide. It would also prevent the nursery from offering for sale anything rare or unusual. Offering the same Bachelor's Buttons year after year after year, I would lose all customers - old and new.
I buy all food, appliances, furniture and clothes locally. I've been doing that for over 30 years. I buy as many supplies and plants as I can for the nursery locally. I have never been to a Lowes and refuse to shop at a Walmart or Home Depot. I have seen what they do to their plants. I have seen what they do to their employees. I have watched the financial devastation wreaked on the surrounding small towns, and friends and colleagues who are no longer in business.
Echinaceamaniac, I suggest you are a shopping addict and your addiction is only satisfied at the big box stores. I have read with interest your statements about how you are growing various new echinaceas, and suggest the problem is you and the various chemicals, herbicides, fertilizers, etc. you are dosing the plants with.
I dislike the tone of disrespect towards nurserymen. I grow and sell plants because I love them. I grow and sell plants because I believe the world needs to be greened up. I grow and sell plants for the pure pleasure of touching them, smelling them, and learning from them. I don't do it for the money, because, like farming, there is no money in the growing business. And I treat my employees and my customers fairly. That's the way they treat me and my plants.
This forum is no longer a congenial place for someone like me who just likes plants and likes to talk about them.

Well - The Echinacea "Meringue" I bought at Lowes is a new variety. It's in a gallon pot. If it doesn't return next year, they'll refund my money. It looks great too and has about 15-20 buds. Sorry you can't match their warranty, but that's YOUR problem and not mine.

I'm not a shopping addict. LOL. I do shop at the local nurseries as well as big box stores. If I go to the local nursery and she has something I want I get it there. She doesn't sell Meringue Echinacea. Lowes was the only place that has it here! The fact that they offer that year guarantee made it a good buy to me. The tone some of you commercial growers made about Lowes was uncalled for. It was implied that we were wrong to buy a plant there. It's only wrong for YOU because you don't like their competition.

I won't go into a rant about your insults to me. I have tons of coneflowers that are in bloom right now. I even have a bed that is the size of a field. They all return every single year. I don't use chemicals unless it is absolutely necessary. The only thing I've used this year is a fungicide and some rooting gel. I'm sure you probably use more than that in your business which you don't make profit from since you love growing plants so much. Yeah right!

I also have tons of coneflowers. None are in bloom now. It's June, afterall.
I don't use chemicals. The nursery is organic.
And I do make a profit.
End of discussion. You have learned nothing from your gardens nor the gardeners who have engaged with you.

I've learned a lot. Thank you. The first thing I've learned is not to let people like you annoy me.

I've learned how to get great deals at Lowe's and HD using coupons, etc.
Check out this super Meringue Ech. i got from Lowe's for 98 cents today.
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Times are tough which makes me alot more thriftier. Oh, and it also comes with a 1 yr. warranty. They also had Sundown, Coconut Lime which is similiar to Meringue. Not as many buds as yours Echimaniac but about 15.

Please tell me how you got it for 98 cents! LOL. That's amazing. Aren't they beautiful!

These double coneflowers seem to tissue culture better than the yellow, orange and red ones.

I wonder why! There has to be something going on!

I bought a $40 water filter last week. This week i bought the same $40 filter + the $10.98 Ech. I also should mention i have a $10 off $50 coupon. I am returning the water filter with the 1st receipt (just the filter). Which makes the $10 off just for the Meringue Ech. Welome to my world. Visit http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?f=9 , this is the best site to get great deals and free stuff.

Sounds like fun. I'll try it!

Friday I found nice gallon magnus and prarie splender and a couple other pink/purple, can't remember the name of for 5.99 at Shopko.

I bought Ech. Meringue at the local nursery. I didn't keep the receipt. I believe they have a return policy, but I've never returned anything there and I don't intend to. I feel that if a plant dies on me that it's usually my own fault or the plant's fault and not the fault of the nursery. I'd rather keep a nursery in business and not haggle over a plant that is only worth a few dollars. This nursery is one of the places that wouldn't stock new plants if it weren't for people like me who are willing to go there over other places.

Oh, and thanks for the picture of Meringue, mayhem69. It looks just like what I was hoping for.

If you're in NE Ohio, then you might be within reasonable driving distance of Bluestone Perennials - they are very well known and trusted in Ohio all over the United States. They have all of the pretty yellow/pink/orangey variations too - and from what I hear those don't last as long as the traditional purple coneflowers...but you know it's always fun to experiment.

I live in NE Ohio also, and I can tell you that as long as you are planting your ech's in halfway decent soil (although I have plants thriving at the end of what used to be part of my gravel driveway - I just added some topsoil and compost for a whopping $2), then they are pretty darn hardy here. I bought ONE single echinacea last year for $3.50, already blooming at a local nursery, and this year I have more than a dozen from that one plant. Water 'em good when you first plant them, and then every couple days once after a couple weeks, and they should be fine. I don't think I know anyone around here who's killed an echinacea.

IMHO, Bluestone isn't a great option for the newer cultivars of echinacea, even if you are local - they charge $10 for 1 and the plant size is pretty small.

I believe in supporting local economy, but doesn't big box stores in a way also contribute to the local economy??? Don't they pay taxes to the town and state and aren't they a major source of some locals for employment?

I have been to almost all local nurseries here in central Jersey, and I have had some good and bad experiences with them. Unless it's a huge major nursery, usually it's a pleasant experience, you find what you want at a reasonable price with a very knowledgeable staff. I have gotten 2-gallon sized echinaceas (magnus, white swan) for just $12.99 and half-gallon for 8.99 (double decker, knee high, coconut lime).

Most of the local nurseries don't offer guarantees on their plants. A few of the big ones will work it out with you or give you an exchange or a credit. But most don't. There's a local nursery literally a walking distance the same street where I live. I don't go there for the following reasons:
1. They're too expensive. Even when they have a "sale", their prices are still twice the amount you would have paid at Lowe's regular price. Just ridiculous pricing. I checked out their verbenas late spring and they were all literally dried-up and wilting probably because of lack of -
2. Manpower - to water the plants. And they still want $3.99 for a quart-size dying plants obviously due to lack of watering. A week later I got the same plants from Lowe's for a clearance price of 79 cents.
3. Not knowledgeable - couple of people that work there don't have a clue when you ask them something. Heck, even the owner argued with me insisting that NJ is in Zone 9 when in fact we are in Zone 6B/7.
4. They don't have guarantees - the only way they offer guarantees is if they design your garden and plant the plants themselves. Then they charge you outrageous amount to design your garden. No thank you! I enjoy designing my own garden.
5. Plants coming all the way from California - yep, they get their plants all the way from Monrovia nursery in California. That's really a great way to support local economy.

As far as big box stores, Lowe's always carry a wide assortment and varieties at cheap prices. I have gotten gallon-sized echinacea Meringue, Pink Double Delight, and Coconut Lime at $10.98. Meantime my local Home Depot, since early spring to now, only carries about 6 kinds of perennials and it's always the same kind. No assortment at all. Only to find out later that they hire an outside contractor to manage their garden center. What were they thinking??!! Lowe's is just 10 minutes drive from them.

In my own opinion, I think either you buy from big box stores or local nurseries, you are contributing to the local economy. You just have to be wise and use better judgment as to where you should spend your money. If you want a specific plant, buy it where it's available or a lot cheaper. Why would I spend $19.99 for a half-gallon Sunset echinacea in one of the local nurseries when BJ's Wholesale Club are selling the same plant and size at $5.99.

If you can't find any at your local nurseries or big box stores, check out these sites below. They offer a wide assortment of echinaceas including the new ones for 2009-2010. They are reputable mail order sites - among the Garden Watchdog Top 30:

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Perennials/E_files/E.htm

http://www.gardencrossings.com

Oh by the way, I mentioned Sunset echinacea OR anything else with the BIG SKY SERIES on their name. Beware of those echinaceas. There's something wrong with their genetics and how they breed those varieties. The plants usually become mutants or the flowers deformed. So buy them at your own risk.

Well, I read this whole string and had my input all laid out in my mind, then I got to Tex68, which pretty much said EXACTLY what I was thinking. I echo your post, Tex68. I buy from Lowe's and know the woman that orders their supply by name. Guess what? She orders from local growers.

I also go to the various nurseries in my area, only one of which, by the way, carry SOME of the more popular new varieties of echinacea. The ONLY reason that I buy from them is that I can't find that particular variety anywhere else b/c I usually have to pay 150% or double the price there.

For me, the decision is all in their offerings. Lowe's actually has a better inventory throughout the year than the locals. End of story. You get my business by what you offer, whoever you are. I don't have a million dollars to spend to support my local nurseries and Lowe's does buy from local growers. To me, it seems like it's not that we aren't supporting local that is the point of contention, it's that we aren't supporting local nurseries, specifically. Well, that makes no sense. So here's my statement:

funnthsun - AVID supporter of Local GROWERS through Lowe's!

Now that that is said, let's not forget what this post was originally about. There were a few varieties this year that I absolutely could not buy in this area. When that happens, I shop online. I had a GREAT experience with Sooner Plant Farms. They sent me huge, very well packaged echinaceas. Very happy with them and will purchase from them again. The Tangerine that they have is killing me, I want that one! Not available until 2010, though. I am looking for coral reef also and have found it in a couple of places online, but just HATE to pay shipping that is the price of the plant!

Tex68, what nursery in Jersey were you talking about? Because I have never found one as poor as you are describing. (And since I will travel, I might as well not bother visiting that one.)

I'm in northwest New Jersey and personally I find the local nurseries to be amazing. Some of my favorites are The Farm at Green Village, Morris County Farms and Great Swamp. I have never been to a nursery (even the small ones I sometimes hit up) and have found unwatered plants.

The Home Depots that are near me seem to have both poor selection and poor quality when it comes to plants.

And I am going to put a plug in here for Monrovia. (And no, I don't work there). Monrovia grows plants all across the country. Plant that are sold here normally come from Ohio (I believe). Having compared lots of wholesale nurseries at lots and lots of retail outlets, I almost always find Monrovia to be superior and if I have a choice, I'll buy a plant grown by them. (OTOH, White Flower Farm almost never impresses me.)

And getting back to the topic, if you try a brand new cultivar, you need to be prepared for it underperforming. New plants cannot be tested in every soil, every zone and often it takes a few years for gardeners to figure out what is going to work in their area.

Kentstar, how's your Mac N Cheese doing? I'm not too sure if i want to risk buying one this yr.

Also echimaniac, how's your Mac N Cheese doing as well?

My Mac 'n Cheese is finally taller than the plant tag. It's a very slow grower. My Tomato Soup is blooming. I'm loving that one so far. Flame Thrower is growing well too.

I planted these in a perfect location. I can't wait to report about them next year. I have two of my own Paradoxa crosses I'm watching too. They might not bloom this year but they are growing so good!

The biggest disappointment in Echies for me this year is Coral Reef. It's even growing slower than Mac n Cheese.

Couldn't help but read through this thread when I saw how passionate everyone feels about buying from local nurseries and buying from box stores. Here's my two cents, for whatever it's worth.

I buy from both. I live in a town that was on the decline way before Walmart ever moved in. In all honesty some of those big box stores have been a blessing to many of us in this area. I don't blame anyone who's on a budget for trying to save a few dollars by going to Walmart or Lowe's for plants. I'd say at least half of my garden consists of plants I bought off of Lowe's clearance racks. But I also frequent the local nurseries, for plants that I either cannot find, or just to spread my pennies around.

Also, the plants at the local nursery aren't always better, not that they are all bad either. You just never know. I just went this past week to a nursery near my home, and many of the plants were wilted, underwatered, some moldy and suffering from disease. My Dad bought a bunch of herbs last year from another local nursery, and when he got them home discovered they had dodder on them which took over his entire herb bed. I mean, in my opinion, gardening is a gamble, and there's always a chance that your plants could be diseased, eaten, hit by a late frost or mower, or just who knows what! Lol*

There are a lot of local nurseries that I feel are just GOOD businesses, and I want to spend my money there to help keep them around. But I mean, there's a reason everybody and their brother doesn't open a business...and stay in business. It's up to the nurseries to be unique and offer something that the bigger chain stores don't. Even if there weren't any chain stores, each nursery still has to compete with the others.

I also don't think that spending $5 or $10 on an echinacea from Lowe's is going to send your local nursery into bankruptcy. Most of the nurseries around here make the bulk of their money on landscaping contracts, putting them in demand over Lowe's or Walmart in that aspect.

I also think that was a great point made up there that those big stores do contribute to the local economy by way of taxes and jobs. They aren't all paid peanuts you know, lol*, I know a girl who used to make $15 an hour there as a head cashier!