Purple Coneflowers attract one of the widest arrays of bflies of any flower. Take a camera next time you go, and post us some pics.

Strouper,

I wish you could visit our one-acre butterfly sanctuary. We have one section of the sanctuary( over1000 square feet) devoted almost exclusively to purple coneflowers and shasta daisies. Even though this area is in part-shade it attracts a lot of butterflies and it looks great this year even though we're experiencing a virtual drought. We're about 9 inches below average rainfall for the year and have received only 1 inch of rain in July.

mike

Ok, you've talked me into planting a bunch! LOL Thank you. : )

Please tell me the secret to purple coneflower. I have planted and planted and it dies or does not come back the next year. Do they need hot, dry conditions? If they do, I guess that is my problem. Please, send info. I love purple coneflowers.

They do love heat and dry conditions, Mary. To me, they are kind of fussy. I have had the best success with regular old Echinacea purpurea - the species. I planted a yellow cultivar, 'Sunrise' about 4 years ago. It came back the 3rd year, but was really puny looking. It didn't come back at all last year, and this year, it finally decided to come back entirely. So, go figure! LOL!

A neighbor of mine has great luck with his located on the East side of his house with full sun until about 1:00 p.m. Mine are in partial shade (the purple species) and reseed a lot every year. The yellow was in nearly full sun all day long.

The best way is to figure out what nectar plants are more successful in your particular area. Some areas, purple coneflowers are THE BEST, and other areas, the BFs ignore them. Have you gone to any parks or to the countryside to see what seems to attract them the most?

Susan

I also live in zone 9 and have had no luck growing Coneflowers. I have tried growing them from seed, buying small plants, large plants, it is the same with Gerbera Daisies for me. I love both of them but just get frustrated cause they are expensive to buy as plants just to have them die. Oh well, just have to stick with my Mexican Sunflowers and Cosmos!

I gave up trying to grow coneflowers a long time ago! I put them in the same category as milkweed - they say they're easy to grow, but they're not, at least not here. I don't see them growing wild along roadsides, and I guess there's a reason, but I don't know what it is. I'm with Mary, I'll just have to stick to my Mexican sunflowers and the many other nectar plants that butterflies love.
Speaking of native milkweeds, one of the rare types that DOES grow here is a. lanceolata. It's blooming now in an area along Hwy. 49 close to here, and there are a few immature seed pods on the plants - I sure hope they'll have time to mature before the road crews mow!
MissSherry

I'm currently experiencing a coneflower fetish, simply because they attract so many butterflies & bees (& bugs, for that matter!). And I'm not going for the newer hybrids; they're just too iffy. I have a skunked "Sunset" which isn't opening properly, and seems to be happening to alot of people. My "Mango Meadowbrite" died off after 2 years. "Harvest Moon" is sooo small & puny (2yo) that it'll probably die off. I did just purchase "Summer Sky", simply because I couldn't resist it. I also purchased "Coconut Lime", which died! I added a few more reliable "Magnus" to my many other purples. "White Swan" is also reliable. I know I don't need any more coneflowers, but I'm having a hard time controlling myself!

I guess it's the humidity and intense heat here in SE Louisiana. I installing a new bed this fall that will be raised with pleanty of sun. Will try one more time with the coneflower.

Yes, I do look to see what is in my surrounding area growing well. I do not see much coneflower. I do have Homestead Purple Verbena as a butterfly magnet. This year there are not many BF's in my area. I guess spraying for the Mosquito population comes first.

Thanks for the info and I will keep trying.

Black Sampson (Echinacea angustifolia)can be pretty common in my area, and is BY FAR the most tolerant of drought. I found it growing (abundantly!) on droughty clay hillsides in the southern black hills and they dont get more than 10 inches of rain there, PLUS most of it runs off in the spots where they grew. Purple coneflower does well for me in the garden, and is a lot bigger, so i prefer it, but it doesnt persist in the meadow during drought years, so i stopped trying. Echinacea angustifolia seedlings are as happy as clams there. Cant wait for them to finally flower.

Well we have a lot of humidity here but our summers are warm and dry. I've also heard that Purple Cone was easy to care for but I've never tried to grow it. Actually it's not one of my favorite flowers but if attracts that many BF's I might have to try it. The golf course I was at is average at best and they're not known for taking excellent care of things, so maybe this is one of those areas where PCF is easier to grow. I know the guy up the road had shasta daisies this year and they did real well. I've got all raised beds but I would be looking to plant these directly in the ground. Does anyone know how they do in clay? Thanks for all the info and good conversation.

Strouper

Oh and Mike if I ever get over to VA I'll have to take you up on that offer.

If you start some *NON-HYBRID, NATIVE* (those are the hardiest) coneflowers from seed in small pots and plant them while they are young, you should have some success. Also the PC's love full sun. While the PPC sometimes prefer just a bit of dappled shade. I know in the wild, I find most of them right on the very edge of the woods.
Most of the Echinacea sp. don't give a rip about clay. I know because that's what my soil is, despite amendments. I'm sure they prefer sandy/well drained soil better than clay though. I believe they prefer basic soils also. (Adding some lime to your soil might give you better success.)
I think a lot of the success has to do with what zone you are in. I am in warm and humid z7b/8a in Little Rock, Arkansas.
This topic needs further discussion. For those of you who have had success with Echinacea sp. share some of you growing tips.

I've had good luck with PC. But, the best to grow, are the old ones, not the new varieties. I have good luck with magnus, and I have some pink ones that I'm not sure what the variety is. Mine die back in the fall and come back in the spring. They also come up everywhere in the flower bed. So, I transplant them where ever I want some.

I just deadheaded them, and threw away a lot of seed. But, I can keep seed and share them. If you are interested in some hardy, no name coneflowers, that even attract red spotted purples, I'll share my seed this fall.

How I grow them: I stick them in the ground, and water them until they are established. Then I just forget about them. My soil is sandy loam, but has lots of silty clay in it also. It can get pretty hard when it gets really dry. Silvery crescentspot cats sometimes defoliate the plants, but that's ok with me. When everything starts to droop in the garden, I water. I don't feed them, and I don't mulch them. I also have the new named varieties. The blooms are pretty when they first appear, but they don't stay true as they age. They actually look worse than the old no-name variety. But they are spreading and thriving.

Sandy