![]() ![]() These plants do not tolerate wet, poor soils. The Big Sky series is a group of hybrid selections that come in several colors. ![]() The sturdy stems make this an excellent cut flower. “White Swan” grows 3 feet tall and produces lovely white flowers. “Tiki Torch” is a hybrid variety with orange petals. “Magnus.” Named the 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association, Magnus grows 3 feet tall and has wide, rose-hued blooms.įor a compact variety, try “Kim’s Knee High,” which produces purple to pink flowers. Visit your local nursery or online catalogs and you’ll find numerous varieties, including some with white, red, yellow or peach flowers. Make applications on cool, cloudy days because these products can burn plants if applied during hot, sunny weather. Wash these pests off with a steady stream of water or spray all parts of the plants with insecticidal soap or oil. Leafhoppers can also carry aster yellows, a serious plant disease. Both damage the plants by sucking the juices from the leaves and stems, causing the plants to wilt. Space the plants so air circulates freely between them and use soaker hoses instead of overhead sprinklers, which can spread disease.Īphids and leafhoppers are the most common insect pests. In addition to root rots, powdery mildew is fairly common, but rarely fatal. Diseases and PestsĬoneflowers are fairly disease and pest resistant, but they are bothered by a few problems. Apply ¼ cup 10-10-10 fertilizer per plant in the spring. Coneflowers don’t need a lot of fertilizer. The plants will readily self –sow if you leave a few seed heads. Cut back the stems after flowering to encourage a tidy look, but leave a few over the winter for your animal friends. Amend heavy soils with compost and peat moss or grow coneflowers in raised beds. They don’t tolerate heavy, soggy soils and will develop rot root diseases. Although this is true, the plants will grow and flower better if given a loam soil with moderate fertility. ![]() They’re also known for tolerating poor soil. They are quite drought tolerant once they become established, but water them at least weekly during the first growing season. Growing ConeflowersĪs prairie plants, coneflowers grow best in full sun, although they tolerate partial shade. ![]() In fact, they become overcrowded and should be divided every three to four years. You can also propagate coneflowers by division. Keep the soil evenly moist and transplant the young seedlings when they stand 3 inches tall. Sow the seeds in a lightweight starting mix and cover them with a thin layer of the mix. They germinate best when air temperatures range between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Sow them directly in the garden in late spring or start them indoors four weeks before the last frost. How many plants can you say that about? Propagating ConeflowersĬoneflowers are widely available as nursery plants, but you can also plant them from seed. The flowers attract butterflies and bees to the garden in the summer and offer shelter and food to wildlife in the winter. They can be propagated from seed, cuttings or division and they require almost no care. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, making them adaptable to almost every part of the country.
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