How can you ignore the beautiful shape of a coneflower? Are you curious if you can grow a lovely coneflower in your garden? Which color of the coneflower varieties will look great in your garden and thrive in your location?
Coneflowers are known for there unique shape and array of colors. They grow best in Eastern and Central North America in hardiness zones between 3 and 9. They will survive in the cold temperatures during winter and bloom wonderfully in summer.
I went out and found the best coneflowers to plant in a garden. While doing this, I realized that there are sssooooo many types of coneflowers to choose from. I figured others might become overwhelmed or lost in this process, just like me.
So I went ahead and laid out the 27 best coneflowers and everything you need to know to make a decision about which ones you should grow.
You will learn about the hardiness zones each one thrives in. How tall you can expect each variety to become. How much sun they will need and when they bloom.
27 Coneflowers Explained!
I included a chart to help make your decision process even easier! If you’re looking for a quick comparison, go ahead and scroll down to the bottom. You will be able to see each coneflower and their individual growing details right next to each other.
So get this, echinacea is a Greek word that means “sea urchin”. Echinacea is a genus of plants that is most commonly referred to as a coneflower.
In other words, echinacea is the scientific name for a coneflower.
Now lets dive into each coneflower and what makes it unique!
Echinacea Purple
purple petals and a reddish-brown center. These flowers can attract butterflies, bees, and of course your eyes!
With resistance to droughts, poor soil, and deers, this flower is low maintenance. Not only that but it can grow in open gardens or in large containers that are at least 3 gallons in size.
It can grow up to 5 feet and will thrive in full sun and partial shade. Also, it has a fragrance that is quite strong. With flowers that can grow up to 5” in diameter, It makes for a wonderful cutting flower.
It is known to be used in herbal teas because of its ability to strengthen the immune system and lavender flavor.
Echinacea White
This beautiful white and gold flower is sometimes called a white swan. This comes from the shape and color of the petals.
It will grow up to 4 feet in height. It can be grown in open gardens and in large containers. It can bloom repeatedly if you deadhead the flowers.
To make sure this flower thrives in your garden, plant it in an area that will get full sun to part shade. This will increase the chance of it attracting bees, butterflies, and birds.
All around it is easy to care for flowers that will add to the attractiveness of your garden!
This flower, like most coneflowers, is also known to be used as a medicinal herb.
Echinacea Hot Papaya
This flower is deep red and bright orange. Newly blooming flowers start with brilliant gold, then transform into a bright red-orange. As you can see, both the center and the petals are the same elegant color. These colors could definitely be a loud touch to your garden.
With its tolerance to deer, droughts, and poor soil, it is an all-around easy to care for plant.
It can grow up to 3 feet in height and can be grown in both open gardens and large containers. Regardless of what you plant it in, make sure it is in a location fo your garden that gets full sun to part shade.
With its magnificent fragrance, bees and butterflies love this flower. In fact, this is one of the most fragrant coneflowers that you can buy.
Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit
With an array of colors, this flower is a clear winner. You have the choice of buying these flowers in a shade of orange, pink, red, cream, white and yellow.
All you need is a few different shades of this flower and your garden will have a variety of colors!
They are also resistant to deer and drought. Making them a nice and easy low maintenance plant to own.
With their strong fragrance, they attract all of the lovely garden friends that you want. These friends are more commonly known as butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and many more!
Echinacea Purpurea Marmalade
With ‘marmalade’ in the name, it should be no surprise that this flower is a beautiful mixture of orange, tangerine, and gold.
This too is a great plant to add in your garden to add an exclamation point of color. With its ability to grow in open gardens and large containers, this exciting color can be placed next to any other color scheme that needs some life!
Like most coneflowers, it is easy to maintain! This is from its tolerance of deer, drought, and poor soil. It only needs a dry to medium amount of water to thrive in your garden.
So go ahead and plant an Echinacea Purpurea Marmalade in your garden! Just make sure it is in a location that will get full sun to part shade.
Echinacea Quills And Thrills
This unique flower has petals that no other coneflower can relate to. I mean look at the tips of each petal! They just branch out like fingers.
The brilliant color contrast of pink and orange is stunning. It makes for a great flower to cut off and gift!
These plants are all-around low maintenance. It is tolerant of deer, drought, and poor soil.
With a large size bud and its clumping like growing pattern, these flowers will impress anyone! So impressive in fact, that they attract all of your friendly garden visitors.
Put these flowers in a container, or an open garden. Either way, they will be happy!
Echinacea Purpurea Pink Poodle
This coarse, rough hairy vibrant pink flower will amaze you time and time again when it blooms. It is thick with petals and is fragrant.
It will thrive best in full sun, but can also be grown in part shade. When in full sun, the flower head is known to grow to a large size.
The Pink Poodle will attract butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and all of the other friendly garden visitors.
This coneflower is tolerant of heat, drought, humidity, and poor soil. It typically grows at a medium pace. If you deadhead the flower when it is still blooming, it will spend more of its energy growing its flowers.
Echinacea Purpurea Purity
With beautiful white petals and elegant orange cones, this flower can be a great addition to your garden! Not only the colors but it can grow as many as 25 flowers per season.
If you plant this flower in an area with plenty of sunlight, it will bloom with its magnificent colors and attract bees and butterflies.
When most people think of the word ‘coneflower’, an image of this flower comes to mind.
This plant is ideal for growing on your borders and in large containers.
These easy to care for flowers are excellent for cutting, and a great choice for anyone’s garden!
Echinacea Purpurea Milkshake
With these long-lasting vanilla white petals and yellow flower bud, It is hard to go wrong!
This fast-growing flower will reach a height of 3 feet, and up to 2 feet in width.
Another great thing about the Milkshake Coneflower is how easy it is to care for it. After it is mostly grown, it only needs to be watered occasionally.
It even doesn’t age like most of the other coneflowers! So get this, the blooms will continue to hold their color even when it is late fall.
Echinacea Purpurea Green Jewel
This Vibrant green plant is a stunner. The petals and the bud are the same color! As you can see they have thin yellow stripes around them.
This creates a magnificent shade in the flower. I recommend you place these next to the other coneflowers in your garden since the foliage of this flower will contrast greatly with the others.
It can grow in full sun and light shade areas. You can plant this in open gardens and in large containers.
This is a low maintenance plant, it is tolerant to deer, heat, humidity, and even poor soil!
If you wish to help this flower thrive, deadhead it to create more blooming flowers.
Echinacea Pink Double Delight
This flower is a gorgeous shade of pink. This shade of pink is so gorgeous, that it attracts butterflies and all of the other garden friends you want! Its fragrance is another thing that helps the friendly garden visitors fall in love with it.
These can be planted in open gardens, and in large containers. That way you can enjoy their color in any part of your garden!
It will grow to a height of 26” and gift you with some lovely flowers in the summertime!
With their color and fragrance, these make as a great flower to cut and show off inside your house, or give them to one of your friends!
Echinacea Purpurea Double Decker
This is without a doubt the most unique coneflower. This is because it will bloom with double layers! As you can see, on top of the center, there is another petal blooming section.
You will not be able to see this second layer of flowers until it is at least on its 2nd growing season.
This can be grown in an open garden and in large containers. But you will definitely want it in an easy to see part of your garden so that way you can enjoy its unique growth structure.
This flower is a little different than the other coneflowers, it prefers a little bit cooler climate. Making its growing zones 3-8. Nevertheless, an amazing addition to any garden.
Echinacea Sombrero Salsa Red
This fiercely red flower will provide gorgeous color and is easy to maintain.
If you love to cut flowers off to enjoy inside your house, or to give to your significant other…
Look no further! This shade of red is bound to impress anyone who looks at it. Even birds, butterflies, and hummingbirds!
It can thrive in both open gardens and large containers.
This flower is tolerant of poor soil, drought, and even deer! Definitely a great choice for those of you who do not have a lot of time to tend to your garden.
Echinacea Purpurea Ruby Giant
Those bright pink flowers contrast gorgeously with the ruby red center! This kind of color scheme is irresistible….
So irresistible in fact that all of your neighboring birds, bees, and hummingbirds just have to come over and enjoy it.
But don’t worry, you can enjoy the flower and friendly visitors at the same time!
The Ruby Giant can grow in both open gardens and in large containers. These containers must be bigger than 3 gallons.
It is tolerant of deer, heat, drought, humidity, and poor soil.
So if you love neglecting plants. Or if you just don’t have a lot of time to work in your garden, this gorgeous flower might be for you.
Echinacea Merlot
Similar to the Ruby Red coneflower, this flower has a color scheme of pink petals and a red center. Although it has a different shade of pink and red.
This plant can grow up to 3 feet tall! Its stalk is so strong, that it will not need stakes to hold itself up.
The beautiful flowers and fragrance will attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The flowers can reach a width of 5”, that’s pretty large for most coneflowers!
After you have established this flower, it only needs watering from time to time.
Echinacea Avalanche
Don’t be scared! This type of avalanche will not hurt you. Although you might get lost staring into its beautiful white flowers.
The yellow-green center contrasts magnificently with the white flower petals. This too would make for a great flower to cut off and gift to someone.
The echinacea avalanche is a bit shorter than most of the other coneflowers. It can reach a height of 20 inches and the flowers can reach a width of 3 inches.
It is tolerant of deer, poor soil, and drought. This plant only needs to be watered at a moderate rate.
Echinacea Daydream
If you enjoy getting lost in dreams during the middle of the day…
This flower is for you! It blooms with magnificent yellow petals and an orange middle, this color scheme can go in just about anyone’s garden!
It is tolerant of most things, including deer, poor soil, drought, humidity, and heat!
The echinacea daydream does not need much water, and it is easy to maintain.
This can be planted in both open gardens and in large containers.
Echinacea Flame Thrower
With an outrageous name like ‘flame thrower’, it’s sheer beauty lives up to its name!
This easy-care flower is a great addition for any part of your garden that needs a little bit more color, or a lot more color!
This can attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds alike. It is an all-around easy to maintain flower with low maintenance requirements. Not to mention, it is tolerant of deer, heat, humidity, drought, and poor soil!
It grows wonderfully in both open gardens and large containers.
If you are looking for a flower to consistently cut to gift to others (or gift to yourself), this needs to be on your list.
Echinacea Secret Passion
Probably one of the best-kept secrets about this plant is how magnificent it looks… Ok, it is not a well-kept secret at all. I mean just look at that thing!
These bright and light pink flowers can add a touch of color and energy to any garden.
Although it has a shorter blooming season, this flower still can add the magnificent colors that you need to any garden.
It is even tolerant of poor soil, heat, deer, and humidity. Making it perfect for any inexperienced gardeners and those of you who feel they do not have tons of time to spend in their garden.
Echinacea Purpurea Razzmatazz
This strongly branched flower blooms with a purple and pink color scheme. It enjoys a long blooming season and is incredibly eye-catching!
It is tolerant of just about anything you can think of. This includes deer, heat, humidity, and drought. Although it does thrive in well-drained soil.
It can thrive in both open gardens and large containers. It will need small amounts of water to thrive.
With sturdy stems, the Razzmatazz is great for cutting and gifting to your friends, or put it inside your kitchen!
All around an easy to care for plant because of its low maintenance.
Echinacea Mango Meadowbrite
This mango-yellow colored flower lets off a wonderful fragrance of orange tea. The heat of summer does not hurt this flower, in fact, it actually thrives in hot temperatures! It will need more water when it is hot out, but you will be rewarded with magnificent flowers in return!
It is resistant to disease, deer, and poor soil. With its juicy fragrance of orange tea, it can attract all of the friendly garden visitors. This includes bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and much more! You can find the Echinacea Mango Meadowbrite in herbal teas, because of its orange and mango flavor.
During the winter, this flower can withstand the cold temps that certain areas can provide.
Echinacea Cotton Candy
This tasty looking flower will be sure to catch your eye! With its dark pink center, and ‘cotton candy’ pink petals, it makes for a wonderful cutting flower.
These beautiful colors and its fragrance attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies!
It can thrive in both open gardens, and in large containers over the size of 3 gallons.
This flower is resistant to deer but needs pretty good conditions to be able to thrive in. It prefers plenty of sunlight and needs room for the roots to spread.
Echinacea Elton Knight
With a 5” flower width, this flower can be a real showpiece in your garden! It is known to bloom from June to August with petals that are magenta-pink, and a bud that is orange-red.
The petals are much thicker than its relatives, this does result in lower number of petals, but even more, color to enjoy looking at.
It is tolerant of deer, drought, and poor soil. These are just a few of the reasons why this plant is easy to maintain.
This plant is ideal for borders and mixed containers because it is smaller than its relatives. Although it can be grown in open gardens as well!
Echinacea The King
The monster of coneflowers, most commonly known as ‘The King’ can reach a height of 6 feet! As it towers over its neighbors, it shows off its red-pink petals and orange-brown bud.
This flower is quite the show plant, it attracts birds, bees, and butterflies. Regardless of its height, it is still easy to maintain the plant. It will thrive with dry to medium amounts of water.
Despite its height, it can still be planted in a large container of 3 gallons or more. Although it might not reach its full height of 6’ in a container.
Nevertheless, in an open garden, a container, or a border section, ‘The King’ will be sure to add some flavor to your garden.
Echinacea Purpurea Virgin
The large and thick white petals come in to show their viewer an atheistically pleasing view!
The Echinacea Purpurea Virgin attracts birds and butterflies with its fragrance. It can tolerate deer, drought, and poor soil. Making this an excellent choice for beginner gardeners and those of you who feel they do not have a lot of time to spend in their garden.
Make sure to plant it in a location that will receive full sun to part shade. This way it will thrive and reach its full height of 24” inches!
These strongly branched stems can be cut off during the blooming season to be gifted to one of your friends.
Echinacea Purpurea Sparkler
Just like the firework, this coneflower ‘Sparkler’ will be sure to light up your garden. With its rosy-red bud and its rosy-pink petals, it will be a great addition to your garden.
It is an easy plant to maintain. It only needs water from the dry to medium category. It is tolerant of deer, drought, and poor soil. Not to mention, it can thrive in full sun to part shade locations in your garden.
Although it will only bloom during the summertime, the foliage mound provides a great view in your garden. But the foliage will keep your gardens visual appeal high!
So go ahead and give your garden an extra sparkle by planting the ‘Echinacea Purpurea Sparkler’
Echinacea Fragrant Angel
These large, golden yellow centers with white petals on the outside are very fragrant. The flowers can reach a size of 5” wide!
This flower has a nice and strong stalk, that allows it to grow without needing the support of stakes to hold it up.
Make sure this color scheme fits in with the rest of your garden. It will be a very eye-catching and dominant feature in your garden.
It is tolerant of poor soil, drought, and deer. With its strong fragrance, it attracts all of our lovely garden friends. You know, the bees, birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies.
This can be grown in an open garden or a large container. Although it does need regular watering, especially if it is hot out.
Comparison Chart
Types of Coneflowers | Height | Growing Zones | Blooming Season | Light |
Echinacea Avalanche | 20” | 4-9 | Summer | Full Sun |
Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit | 30” | 4-9 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Cotton Candy | 3’ | 4-8 | Mid Summer to Mid Fall | Full Sun |
Echinacea Daydream | 24” | 4-10 | Mid Summer to Early Fall | Full Sun to Light Shade |
Echinacea Elton Knight | 24” | 3-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Flame Thrower | 3’ | 4-9 | Early Summer to Late Summer | Full Sun |
Echinacea Fragrant Angel | 3.5’ | 4-9 | Early Summer to Fall | Full Sun |
Echinacea Hot Papaya | 36” | 4-9 | Early to Mid Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Mango Meadowbrite | 3’ | 4-9 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Sun |
Echinacea White | 3’ | 3-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Pink Double Delight | 24” | 3-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purple | 5’ | 3-8 | Spring to Fall | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Double Decker | 3.5’ | 3-8 | Late Spring to Late Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Green Jewel | 24” | 3-8 | Late Spring to Late Summer | Full Sun to Light Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Marmalade | 30” | 4-9 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Quills And Thrills | 3’ | 4-9 | Summer to Fall | Full Sun |
Echinacea Sombrero Salsa Red | 3’ | 4-9 | Late Spring to Late Summer | Full Sun to Light Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Ruby Giant | 3’ | 4-10 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Pink Poodle | 30” | 4-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Purity | 26” | 4-9 | Summer | Full Sun |
Echinacea Purpurea Milkshake | 3’ | 4-9 | Mid Summer to Fall | Full Sun |
Echinacea secret Passion | 24” | 4-9 | Early Summer to Late Summer | Full Sun |
Echinacea Purpurea Razzmatazz | 3’ | 3-9 | Summer to Fall | Full Sun to Light Shade |
Echinacea The King | 6’ | 3-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Virgin | 24” | 3-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Purpurea Sparkler | 30” | 3-8 | Summer | Full Sun to Part Shade |
Echinacea Fragrant Angel | 3.5’ | 4-9 | Early Summer to Fall | Full Sun |
Conclusion
Now you have everything you need to decide what type of coneflower you will grow in your garden!
Will you plant ‘Echinacea The King’ or ‘Echinacea Purpurea Green Jewel’?
Either way, let me know in the comments below!
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.
Nice article, the chart is especially helpful. thought you might like to read this-all cultivars don’t have the same characteristics.
https://xerces.org/blog/cultivar-conundrum
I have grown every non-hybridized coneflower(echinacea genus) and have found the native wildflowers to be the hardiest and most attractive to pollinators.
It’s important to keep our natural heritage alive and since coneflowers naturally occur in pinks/purple and yellow(E. paradoxa) these should be grown first. I usually start a few hundred from seed every year and they always bloom in their second year and get quite busy from years 3 on.
I liked the appearance of Hot Papaya, but I never saw any pollinators on my plants.
The best hybrid that native bees feed from is Magnus.
Pow-Wow in white isn’t terrible, but it attracts earwigs rather than bees or other pollinators.
This is been my experience from growing a quarter acre of echadasia for 20 years.
Thanks for your experienced comments!! 😁
Thank you, Amber! The pictures are gorgeous and I really appreciate the chart.