My Trial Garden Early Winners and Losers

Echinacea 'Tomato Soup'

Well many perennials have started poking their heads out of the ground, yet alas some have not. One of the early losers is my Echinacea 'tomato soup'. Planted in the spring of 2009, I was surprised and delighted to see it come back with vigor in 2010. Yesterday I have determined that it has not returned to see 2011. It was planted in a dry, sunny spot in the garden where it should have thrived. I am not entirely disappointed, since the color of this although nice when first open, faded quickly. This is the best photo I had since it didn't grow all that well. Echinacea 'hot papaya on the other hand looks to be doing wonderfully, planted in the spring of 2010, I can't wait to see those blooms.

Echinacea 'Art's Pride

I've been wanting to post this since last week but major computer failure prevented me from doing so. My first and most favorite echinacea to bloom has once again opened it's lovely orange cones. Orange Meadowbrite Coneflower Echinacea 'Art's Pride' is not your typical "Garden Center" plant as it is tall, lanky and sometimes floppy, but I tell people that you can spot the color from across the garden it is so bright. It is a must have for Echinacea lovers. 


The following is a description from the Missouri Botanical Garden website "Echinacea Orange Meadowbrite grows to 2-3’ tall on rigid stems. It features fragrant, daisy-like coneflowers (to 5” diameter) with orange to coppery-orange rays and large, pin cushion-like, dark brown central cones. Flowers bloom from June to August with some sporadic later bloom." Art’s Pride’ is a coneflower that has no purple on it. It is noted for having distinctive orange ray flowers, a sweet orange-spiced tea fragrance and semi-glossy dark green leaves. ‘Art’s Pride’ is a product of a breeding program conducted at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Parents for this variety were Echinacea purpurea ‘Alba’ (female) and Echinacea paradoxa (male). It typically grows to 2-3’ tall on rigid stems. It features fragrant, daisy-like coneflowers (to 5” diameter) with orange to coppery-orange rays and large, pin cushion-like, dark brown central cones. Flowers bloom from June to August with some sporadic later bloom."

The first photo is an early stage bloom with the in the later stages, but they hold there color better than some of the newer varieties on the market

Echinacea 'pica bella'

This particular echinacea has been getting a lot of positive press the last couple of years, with some well respected plant people singing its praises. Well I planted in the garden in summer 2008 from a one gallon, to see what all the hype was. 'Pica bella' has deep pink petals and the flowers are quilled, or rolled up, which gives the flowers a starlike look. Kevin McGowen, from Midwest Groundcovers, is a big fan and likes the contrast of the dark stems on this 30" tall variety. The photos here are a series of shots that really show how long this plant blooms, it started blooming in late June, early July and bloomed all the way to frost. Individual flowers lasted a long time. The top photo was taken July 19, 2009 the middle August 4th and the bottom August 23rd. I was thrilled with the size and length of bloom. Overwintering is not a problem in my zone 5 yard, in fact it is the stongest growing echinacea in the garden today, May 18th, it is appr. 12" tall already. Yes, that's a 'tiki torch' trying to compete behind it. I will let you know how that does this season, it's alive at least.

Check out Midwest Groundcovers' blog moderated by Kevin McGowen, at http://mgdisplaygardens.blogspot.com