It is crossed with E. purpurea I believe. I haven't grown that one,(yet) but I,ve seen them both up close in pots. To me,the hybrid does not look much different from the straight species(E.tennesseensis). Maybe someone can correct me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jelitto

But if it's a hybrid then it's not tennesseensis, and is being misrepresented. Not that that'd be particularly surprising...

Patrick Alexander

Rocky top is a variety of tennesseensis. I don't know why they have that "hybrid" tacked on the end unless it's to prevent problems with the Govt. people.

I have the plant and it looks nothing like purpurea in growth habit or flower...worst of all unlike purpurea the deer like it!

Fredsbog has it exactly right. Giving the plants another name gets around the need to have a permit to sell the plant across state lines.

Echinacea tennesseensis'Rocky Top Hybrid" was introduced by Jellito Seeds, a huge German company with a great presence in the US. As stated, I suppose it's because of the federally endangered status of the plant, growing wild in only three counties in Tennessee, that a seed source is important.

In my growing of the plant, it doesn't have any traits of E. purpurea; it has narrow leaves, ray petals distinctly upturned, and is more delicate in all respects. I found one article by Jellito on the web, linked below. You could contact them for the whole scoop.

Here is a link that might be useful: E tennesseensis 'Rocky Top'

I tried growing Tenneseensis...it came back the next year, but never again. I think it likes rocky/alkaline soils.

The Rocky Tops I've seen look like E. tennesseensis. However, I was told that they call it a hybrid because the seed is collected off plants in a setting where they may be cross-pollinated by E. purpurea. Since echinacea are promiscuous as all get out, the seed may turn out to be hybrid. You can't tell until you grow the seed out.

Soeur

ahughes, say it isn't so! i just planted one this fall :(

on that note, the company i purchased it from listed federal license number or something like that for possession and selling of plant.

I talked with a customer service rep from Jellito Seeds the other day and they said that Rocky Top was a new strain they developed by crossing E. tennesseensis and E. purpurea. I was asking questions concerning legal issues and they refered me to another company that sells E.tennesseensis. I left a message and have not received a call back. They do have a permit to sell. I have talked to at least 6 different people in the last 3 months about E. tennesseensis and the laws that protect it. Two were from Cheekwood Gardens, two were from the Tennessee Native Plant Society and two were from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. I'm getting conflicting information about this plant. I just want to know if I purchase seed or a E. tennesseensis plant from a company with a permit how do the laws apply to me. The first 4 people I talked to told me that I could not sell the plant or seed but I can give them away. The 5th person was from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and they told me that I could not sell but could give them away and that I could even mail them to other states but I could not use them to trade for other peoples seed . The last last person I spoke with was from the US Fish and Wildlife Service here in Nashville and he was surprised that a seed company had a permit to sell. He told me they only give permits for research purposes. Needless to say I'm confused and not sure I even want to purchase an E. tennesseensis.

I just wanted to chime in on this. Last fall I ordered Rocky Top thinking it was a variety of E. tennesseensis. I also planted species E. tennesseensis next to it. The Rocky Top arrived with a flower still growing.

I gave the two no further thought until I read that species E. tennesseensis grows in rocky hillsides and has a long tap root. I remember when planting the Rocky Top a distinct lack of tap root (more like E. purpurea). Some kid trying to grab the flower was able to pull the whole plant, roots and all, out of the ground. I'm glad he left it.

I sort of feel cheated by the nursery I ordered it from as there was no mention of hybridization associated with Rocky Top. But I promise to love my little bas**** red-headed stepchild plant.

I planted E. tennesseensis 'Rocky Top' 3-pack plants from Bluestone in fall of '04 in fairly deep shade, and found poor growth. Moved them to a mostly-sunny heavy clay area in Fall '05 and have already had strong buds emerging this spring.

wet_mesic, how long is the taproot for the _non_ 'Rocky Top'? Mine had fairly long multiple tuber roots when I took them up this past fall.

Good thinking there susanargus. You question made me think. The species, from Prairie Moon, was about 4" while the 'Rocky Top' came in a 3" deep pot. The species root may have been from a more mature plant.

Good growing!

I got tennesseensis seeds from Territorial about 4 years ago (along with paradoxa, angustifolia). I got 2 plants which are still juvenile--only 6" tall in my garden. This is my first year to get a bloom on one. Mine are in partial shade and soil is clay loam. I may consider moving them to a sunnier spot.

mine died. it didnt' even come up this spring.

I have had success growing the Tennessee Coneflowers by simply mixing sand in with the soil where I plant them. They require more drainage than the common coneflowers. This also applies to Palladia and Paradoxa. I have a lot of luck putting sand on top of the soil as well. Drainage is important for these plants.

I have grown "Rocky Top" hybrid for 3 years. It is a hybrid (Echinacea purpurea and E. tennesseensis) that does not reseed true to the original. There are both Echinacea purpurea and "Rocky Top" seedlings. It does well (in fact, almost too well) on a berm with low moisture and low fertility.

You do realize, the presence or absence of a taproot is a phenological issue, not a genological one, at least in many cases. That is, certain aspects of the site in which a plant is growing, or the way it was propagated in a nursery, can influence these things. I'd never ID a plant on that basis alone, if at all.

Also-and this is hugely controversial, I know-those Tennessee nurseries are not known for high ethical standards, being pretty much the home of wild-collected plants, taken out of their natural environments, all too often to languish and die far from home. I wouldn't......

+oM