Pale coneflower along with little bluestem grass in our meadow
Echinacea pallida
It grows almost as tall, 2 to 3 feet. What distinguishes this species are its very narrow, drooping petals, which are paler than Echinacea purpurea. The leaves are also narrower. This species is said to be very tolerant of heat, drought and humidity, and it certainly has weathered these conditions here, as well as two back-to-back wet seasons. The ripened seed heads are popular with goldfinches, so this is a great plant for attracting birds to your garden.
This species isn’t readily available at most nurseries, but you can find seed for it at Wildflowerfarm.com. They are the fantastic folks who supplied the seeds for our meadow and Eco-lawn 10 years ago.
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They are very pretty – I can imagine the meadow mostly pale purple before all the yellow starts!
Our echinaceas have started to bloom a couple of weeks ago. I have a few varieties mixed in a border, but no pallidas.
Lene
I’ve never found these in nurseries but I’ll try online seed sources now that I’ve seen them growing (in your garden – thanks for sharing!). I think they would be lovely in the butterfly garden I’m designing.
Safe travels to Buffa10 – looking forward to meeting you.
Monica
I love the first picture. The echinacea look a bit forlorn but are charming at the same time.
I love this one Yvonne…and it sure would do nicely down here in the sunny south. I’m growing some fine Purple Coneflowers and Rudbeckia (did I spell that right?0 Just waiting for them to take over the space I’ve planted. I can’t believe your meadow is 10 years old now! So beautiful!
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