KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Plant of the Week June 26

by MaryAnn Fink
Conservation Specialist
copyright 2010


Show pre-empted by Cardinal Game but so many requests for a Plant of the Week-soGuess my pick of the week:

She is in my top 10 absolute favorite Missouri native for growing in a cultivated space!
I have driven ridiculous distances to see her growing both wild and in my most favorite public and private gardens!
She is my first choice as a starter plant for newbie gardeners!
She is perfect as a great cut flowers!
She is a favorite of song birds, butterflies, (even an occasional hummer will check her out!)
Who is She?

ANSWER:
Purple cone Flower (Echinacea purpurea) or as I like to think of her- the best choice for a sanctuary garden, a main player in a meadow sampler and a contemplative companion for a meditation garden! Each flower is individually unique- like me!

She is an easy, long living perennial. (Perennials are called forbs when in a prairie) She comes back year after year without needing staking, coddling or excessive grooming. Because of her many desirable attributes, she is probably the most recognized mascot for wild flower gardening!

She is the greeter for Summer, a flower girl that starts making her own bouquets-usually by June 10th in Missouri! Each blossom is a uniquely individual circular parade of pink-purple petals surrounding a bristly but beautiful butterscotch dome. Her bloom season begins in June and continues sporadically until fall. (She will bloom for the longest period if she is deadheaded regularly, however this does interfere with seed production which is a food source for song birds.)

When the lighting is right and the timing is perfect, she can be a real show stopper! Nature photographers love trying to capture her many moods. Her delicate coloring shifts with the hour and the day.

Care Factor Rating: 2 She usually re-blooms without deadheading, however prompt removal of spent flowers improves her general appearance. She will freely self-seed if at least some of the seed heads are left in place. Divide clumps mid-spring when they become overcrowded (about every 4 years). Division may set back bloom time for that season.