Purple coneflower

In 1696, the shrub was brought to England for the first time and described by the botanist Leonard Plukenet (1642–1706) as "Chrysanthenum americanum", as he discovered it had similarities with garden chrysanthemums. Carl von Linné gave the species the name Rudbeckia purpurea in 1753, thereby assigning it to the genus Rudbeckia. It was only in 1794 that the genus was given its current name Echinacea by Conrad Moench (1744–1805). In the meantime, Rudbeckia and Echinacea have been assigned to two different botanical genera. The Purple Coneflowers have not officially been closely related to the Yellow Coneflower (Rudbeckia) for several years, although the plants appear very similar at a first glance. However, the extent of the relationship between the two shrubs remains a heated topic among botanists. However, clear differences can be determined if we compare the two shrubs with one another.

The description “Hedgehog Coneflower” is an indication of the spikey texture of the flower heads. The botanical name Echinacea is derived from the Greek word "echinos", which also means “spiny one”. There are now numerous vibrantly colorful breeds of Echinacea purpurea.

Echinacea purpurea looks very beautiful in sunny borders, for example in combination with asters, Goldenrod, decorative grasses or Rudbeckien. The nectar-rich shrub, which attracts numerous butterflies and bees, also performs well in free areas close to nature. The long peduncles make for impressive cut flowers.

The Purple Coneflower, which traditionally flowers crimson, should be given a new name these days, as its old one no longer does it justice: It has long been available in white and the new varieties from the USA even have sulfur yellow to vibrant red flowers.

Gardening enthusiasts in America are particularly keen on the new crosses of Echinacea paradoxa and Echinacea purpurea with illustrious names such as ‘Sunrise’, ‘Sunset’ and ‘Harvest Moon’. These are winter-hardy and flower profusely, they have sensational new color tones, from light yellow to vibrant red.
The ‘Sunset’ variety, for example, has radiant, salmon orange petals around a copper-colored center. Some of the petals unfurl in this variety do not unfurl. This gives the flower a star-shaped appearance.

Equally vibrant in orange-red is the pompom-like double-flowered Echinacea ‘Hot Papaya’. The flowers appear as early as June and even give off a slight fragrance. The large flowers of the ‘Tiki Torch’ variety radiate like burning torches in pure orange. The variety ‘Tomato Soup’ is a vibrant tomato red, it was awarded 2 out of 3 stars in the “Staudensichtung”.

‘Green Envy’ is an unusual sight among Purple Coneflowers. The white-green petals change color from the center to the tips from pink to a delicate red shade. This color gradient and their stable stems makes them particularly suitable as cut flowers. The variety ‘Sunrise’ has up to 4.72 inch large flowers in a delicate light yellow with a green dome. It is also fragrant. ‘Green Jewel’ unfurls its sepal-shaped, light green petals around a dark green center. However, these beauties don’t come cheap as breeders have to protect all the innovations in their range. Therefore, garden centers have to pay very high license fees, which they pass on to the end customer.