In the same bed, terrene, are two regular looking pink ones. They are nice and tall but look like the regular E. purpurea. I'm going to ask neighbors if they would like to have them. They are growing right up next to my Sundown and I need to move them. I think you might be right about crossing the Big Sky plants with E. Paradoxa. You might get something really special and different. I have a friend who has offered to grow out some of the seeds from my tangerine orange seedling just to see what we get. I'm definitely taking her up on it. Since Paradoxa has been blooming about the same time as this seedling, maybe more crossing has taken place by the bees. You just never know. It's really awful that the voles ate your tall cross. It sounds like a really nice plant and I love the idea of the tall flowers. Linda

I enjoy echinacea too. Easy to grow, dependable. I like the taller varieties and have had good luck with Ruby Star, Ruby Giant and not sure what the other tall purple varieties are that I have. I've tried a few of the newer varieties but they were not performers for the year or two they lasted and then never came back. Now I am very careful about reading other gardeners experiences with the new ones before buying them. It's such a waste of money and I get pretty annoyed that they actually sell them for such high prices when they don't perform and act like annuals. I am actually running out of room too. I also have 'Fragrant Angel' which I enjoy but so far it is shorter. I'm going into year 3 with a couple of those, so not sure what their maximum height is. I am looking for 'Fatal Attraction' because it is the variety that Piet Oudolf used in the Chicago Botanical Garden, so I figure it must be a performer. Plus I love the dark stems.

I'm one of the ones with troubles with the newer varieties. "Mango Meadowbrite" only lasted 2 years, yet my bosses only lasted 1. "Harvest Moon" doesn't look like it'll make it a third year, and "Sunset" doesn't either; both are in full sun and puny. To make matters worse, I have one of the skunked "Sunset"; it's not blooming properly/petals don't open/remains curled. I've tried "Double Decker" twice and neither returned the following year. "Coconut Lime" also died off after purchasing when transplanted, and it wasn't disturbed at all in the process. My "Magnus", "White Swan" and other unknown purples (also in full sun) are much more reliable in my garden, and return faithfully as well as reseed...

thanks to curlydoc on the Roses forum for already-typed-out instructions: It's very easy once you get the hang of it. You can't copy pictures directly to the site. You have to use an imaging service like Photobucket. First, go to Photobucket.com and set up a users account there. Once you have an account, go to the "Upload Images and Video" box and "Choose Files", which images to upload to Photobucket from "my computer". Specify how much to reduce the size of your images. Usually 640 x 480 is a good size, not too large. "Add Title" and "Return To Album". Voila! You now have your pictures on Photobucket. To transfer your pictures to the (Rose) Forum site, place your cursor over your picture on the Photobucket site. You will see four code choices below the picture. Go down to the "HTML Code" and press your left mouse button over the box next to HTML code, which highlights the words in the box. Right click the highlighted box, and press "Copy" Then, go to the (Rose) Forum Message box and place the cursor where you want your picture to be. Right click and press "Paste". This pastes the words from the HTML code box into the Message box of the Rose Forum. Your picture does not appear at this step, only words. Then press "Preview Message" below the Message box. You will now see your picture in the Message box. If you are happy with the picture and your typed message, press "Submit Message". Your pictures now will appear on the (Rose) Forum site. Hope this helps. CRIMSON GLORY