Archive for the ‘Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)’ Category

Need To Deadhead Perennials

Deadheading is the practice of removing spent blossoms to stimulate re-blooming. It also refreshes the plant’s appearance, and lessens the threat of seed dispersal. It redirects the plant’s energy from seed production to root and shoot growth. Deadheading is an extra chore throughout the growing season. When the plant (perennial or annual) has stopped blooming or […]

Attracting Monarchs To Your Garden

            From Canada to Mexico, gardeners are being recruited to halt the decline of the Monarch butterfly populations across North America. One way you can help is to fill your garden with Monarch’s favorite flowering nectar plants and milkweeds (Asclepias spp.). Plants should be sited in open full sun and […]

Five Summer Perennials You Will Love

            In the past few years several great performing perennials have caught my eye. Some are exceptional landscape performers exhibiting long bloom period and exceptional disease resistance. All are hardy in Zones 4-9. Here are five of the best: Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit coneflower mix (Echinacea purpurea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’) offers a […]

Should You Plant In Fall?

            Should you plant in the Fall? It depends what region you live in, what month in fall, and what species you’re planting. If you live in the mid-Atlantic, coastal New England, or Southeastern U.S., fall is an excellent time to set most hardy plants. Most (not all) trees, shrubs, perennials, […]

Rebloomers Need Your Help

                Re-bloomers are specific cultivars that bring on a repeat floral show – two and sometimes three in one season. In my garden re-blooming iris and re-blooming daylilies return for another round of bloom in late summer and fall. Also, deadheading some perennials will cause them to flower again. You, the gardener, must supply needed […]

Long Blooming Tennessee Coneflower

                  Dependable Tennessee coneflowers (Echinacea tennesseensis) bloom almost all summer (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). That’s three months long. Plants are covered with pale pink, flat ray flowers; blooms measure 2 to 3 inch across with greenish-brown centers or cones. It is a great addition to hot dry sites, […]

Expect Garden Visits From Pipevine Swallowtail

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) is a beautiful butterfly common over a large geographic area of North and Central America. Pipevine swallowtail can be sighted in open meadows, parks, along streams, and hopefully in your garden. The butterfly larvae (caterpillars) feed on plant members of the pipevine family (Aristolochiaceae), particularly Dutchman’s pipevine (Aristolochia spp.), including Virginia […]

2014 Plant Winners Announced

At the start of each year the Motion Picture Industry awards their Golden Globes and Oscars. The Music Industry has the Grammys. Gardening associations also announce the award-winning plants. The National Garden Bureau (NGB) has declared 2014 Year of the Echinacea (coneflower) in the perennial category. NGB declared the mighty cucumber as Vegetable of The […]

Past Winners of the Perennial Plant of The Year Award

Each year PPA members choose a Perennial Plant of the Year™. Since 1990 24 great plants have been selected. Some of the selection criteria include: • Suitable to a wide range of climatic conditions • Low Maintenance • Pest and disease resistant • Availability at garden centers • Multiple seasons of color (beauty) The list […]

The Boys Or Girls of Summer

Gardeners are looking for simple plant combinations and this photo, shot at Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio, shows three easy to grow perennials, “no-brainers” as some might call them. Originally, all three plants emigrated from the prairie where each coped with hot summers without much rainfall. In the hands of modern plant breeders, each perennial has been greatly improved. All are disease and pest resistant. Some […]