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

Bumping up this old thread... My pre-ordered Echinaceas from the Green Thumbs Galore are on the way to me... Hope they will perform better than Big Sky ones. 'Tiki Torch' survived (we had very harsh winter), but looks small. I placed another order on the new varieties at McGlauflin's Perennials. I ordered 'Coral Reef', 'Hot Papaya', and 'Tangerine Dream'. They say that these babies will be in stock on Monday 03 August, 2009. They have free shipping on these presale items. It seems that 'Tangerine Dream' is already gone... Just in case anyone is interested...

Never heard of that one, do love Echinacea have quite a few different ones. Don't have tropicals, but check my list and see if interested in anything. Would love to have some of yours if possible.

So I'm back to report that I did end up getting 3 of these echinacea as well as a bare root "Irresistible". The Irresistible had just broken dormancy (a very small sprout) and when planted the sprout died almost immediately and no new sprouts have shown since. It's been 5-6 weeks and I'm wondering if it's ever going to show. There's been no shortage of moisture but we're just now getting some warm weather. Could it be that it's just been waiting for some sun? The Big Sky plants had been potted and came wrapped but they didn't do very well in transit and the foliage died back on those as well after planting. One looks like it's struggling to survive while the others have done nothing. Meanwhile the "Milkshakes" which came fully potted, are doing very well. These glamour varieties, while beautiful, are too pricey for experimenting so if the survival rate is low I will think twice before purchasing again.