Perennial
How to grow echinacea (coneflowers)
Echinacea purpurea
Echinacea is a hardy prairie perennial that flowers from July to September. Plant it in April or May, not autumn, in full sun and soil that drains well in winter. Cold is not the problem in the UK; wet crowns and crowding are. Give each plant open space, grit on heavy soil and protection from slugs as the shoots emerge in late spring. It needs little or no fertiliser. It is a staple of wildlife gardening: bees and butterflies feed on the cones, and birds take the seed if you leave the heads standing.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Full sun
- Soil
- Free-draining, average fertility
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Low once established
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting echinacea (coneflowers)
WhenPlant Apr to May; flowers Jul to Sep
Starting off
Plant pot-grown plants Apr to May, not autumn, as wet winter soil rots young crowns. Sow seed Feb to Mar at 20 to 25 °C after a fortnight's chilling, 3 mm deep, germination 10 to 20 days, to flower the next year. Divide only established clumps in Apr every 4 years; root cuttings in Nov also work.
Spacing and planting
Plant 45 to 60 cm apart in groups of three or five; set the crown level with the soil. Fine in a 40 cm pot of loam-based compost with grit, but short-lived in a wet pot.
Varieties worth growing
- E. purpurea 'Magnus'
- Large rose-pink flowers with petals held flat instead of drooping, about 1 m. The most reliable and longest-lived of the named purple coneflowers.
- E. purpurea 'White Swan'
- White petals round an orange-brown cone, about 60 to 80 cm. Comes true from seed and mixes easily with grasses.
- E. 'Cheyenne Spirit'
- Seed-raised mix in red, orange, yellow and cream that flowers in its first summer from an early sowing; sturdy and compact at about 60 cm.
- E. pallida
- A species with narrow, drooping pale pink petals and a taller, sparser habit. Deep-rooted, so it copes with drier, poorer soil than E. purpurea.
- E. purpurea 'Fatal Attraction'
- Vivid magenta flowers on near-black stems, about 70 cm, bred in the Netherlands for garden performance.
Echinacea (coneflowers) month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do. Leave the old stems standing.
- February
Cut down the old stems and clear debris. Chill seed for a fortnight, then sow with heat.
- March
Sow indoors at 20 to 25 °C. Top up the grit round the crowns.
- April
Plant. Divide established clumps if they have weakened. Shoots emerge late: watch for slugs.
- May
Last month for planting. Keep slugs off new growth. Water new plants weekly in dry weather.
- June
Water first-year plants in dry spells. Established plants need nothing.
- July
Flowering begins.
- August
Deadhead to a side bud for more flowers.
- September
Leave the last heads to form seed for goldfinches.
- October
Leave the stems standing. Do not plant or divide now.
- November
Take root cuttings. Check that grit, not wet leaves, covers the crowns.
- December
Nothing to do.
Feeding echinacea (coneflowers)
A light feeder from poor prairie soils. On ordinary garden soil give nothing; rich feeding makes soft, floppy plants that are more likely to rot. Feed only on starved sand or in pots, and then at half the usual rate.
Low, a prairie plant that prefers lean, well-drained soil; over-feeding causes floppy growth.
Feeding plan
Planting, April to May
Grit, no fertiliser
On heavy soil, fork a bucket of sharp grit per square metre into the planting area. Nothing in the hole.
After planting, first year
1 g per litre of water as a drench, two or three times at intervals of 2 to 3 weeks, to help roots establish.
April, poor sandy soil only
50 g/m², half the label rate, once: roughly 12 g per plant at 50 cm spacing. On average soil, none.
April, pots
2 g per litre of compost on the surface, the bottom of the label range, once a year: 60 g for a 40 cm pot holding about 30 litres.
Signs to watch
Plant fails to return in spring
Winter wet rot, not nutrition
Replant on raised, gritty soil
Lush leaves and few flowers
Rich soil or feed
Stop feeding
Pale leaves and short stems on starved sand
Nitrogen short
A single balanced feed in Apr and a compost mulch
Pests, diseases and problems
Shoots eaten off as they emerge in April and May, so the plant seems not to have come back
Slugs and snails; echinacea shoots appear late and a few nights of grazing can finish a small crown
Mark where the plants are, clear old stems and debris in February, ring the crown with grit and hand-pick at night. Apply nematodes in April.
White powdery coating on the leaves in late summer
Powdery mildew on plants that are crowded or dry at the root
Water deeply in a long dry spell and thin neighbouring plants for air flow. It appears late and seldom affects flowering.
Pot-grown plants wilt and pull out with few roots
Vine weevil grubs feeding on the roots
Water nematodes into pots in late August or early September, and check the root ball of bought plants before planting.
Dark brown or black spots on the leaves in a wet summer
Fungal leaf spots
Remove the worst leaves, avoid watering overhead and clear all old foliage when cutting down in February.
A plant bought in flower flowers less each year and is gone by the third
Shading and competition from neighbours, or a short-lived modern hybrid
Keep a clear circle of soil round each plant so sun reaches the crown, plant in groups in open ground, not squeezed into gaps, and choose E. purpurea varieties such as 'Magnus' for staying power.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Deadhead to a side bud for more flowers in Aug, or leave the last heads for goldfinches. Cut the stems down in Feb, not autumn, as they protect the crown over winter. No staking. Divide every 4 years in Apr if the clump weakens; a grit mulch over the crown stops winter wet killing it.
Good to knowLeave seed heads for birds and winter structure; divide every few years.
Growing echinacea (coneflowers) in pots
Echinacea will grow in a pot for two or three years if the drainage is sharp. Use a pot at least 40 cm wide and deep, because the roots go down, and a loam-based compost with a quarter grit. Water when the top few centimetres are dry in summer; it tolerates a dry spell better than a wet one. Winter is the danger: move the pot against a house wall out of the rain and raise it on feet, since the crown rots in cold, saturated compost.
Echinacea (coneflowers): common questions
Does echinacea come back every year?
Yes, echinacea is a fully hardy perennial that dies back in winter and regrows in spring, though it comes up late, often not until late April. E. purpurea and varieties such as 'Magnus' and 'White Swan' are the longest-lived. Losses are nearly always due to wet winter soil, slugs eating the new shoots or being crowded out by neighbours.
Should I deadhead echinacea?
Deadhead through August if you want more flowers, cutting each faded head back to a side bud. From September leave the heads on: the cones stand through winter, look good in frost and feed goldfinches. Cut the old stems down in February.
Can echinacea grow in clay soil?
Yes, echinacea grows well on clay that has been improved for drainage, and the fertility suits it. The risk is winter wet around the crown, so fork in plenty of grit, plant on a slight mound with the crown level with the surface, and plant in spring so the roots are established before the first winter.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.