Purple coneflower

[Wjesswheel]

New to this gardening if I plant coneflower bulbs, do they take 2 years to bloom? Will half of them bloom in 1 year and the other half in 2 year?

[digitS']

I am a little at a loss to respond but have grown coneflowers for several years. Once again, I have started a little of their seed in the greenhouse. I expect 2 or 3 flowers from each plant this summer.

Perhaps it would be better to take the flower buds off as soon as they appear. This would allow the plants more energy to develop stronger roots for a better start the follow year. I have not done that.

Coneflower is a herbaceous perennial. It doesn't develop bulbs.

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

Agree. Coneflower is not a bulb plant. You can plant it from seed, in which case it will probably not bloom until next year. Or you can buy well started plants from a nursery that will probably bloom this year. Then they will bloom every following year (your original post sounded like you might think they are biennials, they are as Steve said perennial).

[PaulF]

In this area purple coneflowers grown from seed often bloom the first year. Coneflowers are native to many areas of the country including my area of Nebraska and are prolific and spread very easily. They are beautiful, long lasting and the birds love to eat the seeds. You failed to indicate your location and that would help in giving any growing advise. Most areas coneflower is quite easy to grow and does better in poor or marginal soils in full sun. Six hours of sun especially morning sun is what they really like. Like my granddaughter says,"Easy Peasy."

[Wjesswheel]

New to this gardening if I plant coneflower bulbs, do they take 2 years to bloom? Will half of them bloom in 1 year and the other half in 2 year?

So I made a slight mistake the coneflowers I was talking about were in the bulb section but they are just roots or bare roots. I am in Indiana temp tonight is supposed to be 32. with the next week being above frost temps. Planning on it being the last frost. So should I start these roots in a container or but them in my raised beds and any help or ideas would be appreciated. Do you think they will bloom this year

[ButterflyLady29]

I wouldn't waste the time in a container. Straight into the bed and they should be good to grow. Although I do question the viability of bare roots. I've only seen them as plants or seeds. A quart sized plant would send up a couple blooms, a gallon size plant would have a lot more.

[nltaff]

digits, Paul, rainbow and Butterfly, I've always gotten plants from friends or purchased them, but this year I bought seed. I'm having an awful time getting them to start. Read somewhere that they need light, so I've sown them on top of trays of soil. Read that they need vernalization (or stratification) too. In the greenhouse, then in the freezer for a week, then outside for a freeze-thaw, rinse and repeat (the birds came by and ate those). I keep throwing the seed down, but to no avail. Pretty soon, I'm going to be out of seed (had 3 packets). Any suggestions?

[ButterflyLady29]

Put them in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag and set that in the fridge for a couple weeks. Then plant them in pots indoors, under lights. Unfortunately the birds are extremely fond of them. I'm surprised mine have spread because of how quickly the birds eat the seeds.

[nltaff]

Hi ButterflyLady, Thanks for the tip. I must admit here, that the seed I purchased was a "mix" of colors, but I figured they would all respond the same way (purple coneflower, coneflower mix). Of the 25 or so seeds I threw on top of trays/4-packs, only 3 seedlings emerged and they quickly all began to look as if they were being eaten. I did put my tray in a plastic bag (seed sown on top of soil) in the freezer for 2 weeks, then took them out to the greenhouse, under lights. Can't really remember whether the 3 plants I did get came from the initial greenhouse sown or the tray that went in the freezer. I did use a lot of seed, and this is my result:

The other two that did germinate, sent up two coneflower true leaves each and quickly began looking sickly:

One has the remains of the second, smaller leaf, and the other has just a dark, 1/8" brown spot that was to be the second true leaf. If you look closely, the taller failed leaf has a marked white spot near tip-this looks suspiciously as if some predator sucked the juice right out of that leaf. Maybe I shouldn't have tried this in spring. Thanks for the tip and I'll give it one more go.

[nltaff]

Update on first picture above, that healthy plant now has a 3rd leaf and looks like it will survive. Meanwhile, I relented and purchased 6 purple coneflower plants online. I plan to arrange at least 3 of them in a grouping around a Goldflame spirea, along with some lemon lilies, and chives. Next year, I'd like to get some Echinacea 'Twilight', as they are supposed to be quite fragrant.

[Lindsaylew82]

They look like they have some sort of mites on them.

[applestar]

Sorry you had so much trouble -- it sounds like you tried all kinds of ways, though.

I grew echinacea angustifolia (I think they were angustifolia... might have been purpuria...) from seeds last year and it looks like I started them WAY early Subject: 2015 seed starting thread!

I remember *somewhere* SusanW posted how she starts hers. She makes it sound easy LOL

Thanks for the tip about 'Twilight' -- I might try this too

Echinacea 'Twilight' BIG SKY TWILIGHT - Plant Finder
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/ ... nid=264067

'Twilight' is a hybrid coneflower in the Big Sky Series from Itsaul Nurseries in Atlanta, Georgia. […] to 2 1/2' tall on sturdy stems that do not need staking. It is noted for its large, sweetly-fragrant coneflowers (to 3 1/2” diameter) […] deep rose-pink rays encircling a dark, burgundy-red center cone. Flowers bloom from late spring to later summer, sometimes with additional sporadic bloom until frost. […]'Twilight' is reportedly the result of a 2002 cross-pollination of E. purpurea 'White Swan' (seed parent) with an unnamed selection of E. purpurea x E. paradoxa (pollen parent).

[Susan W]

Just some notes on coneflowers.
If you found bare root to buy, plant in ground and should bloom this season, as they are already in their 2nd year. Give each space, as hopefully they will grow and spread!
Starting from seed - This can be done with the natives, but most likely not with the hybrids. Duh! I use peat pellets, 12 in the small tray. Soak pellets, plant seeds, put in veggie drawer of frig with the top set off center. Check periodically. Regular purple 3 weeks should do, the others I leave chilled longer (TN, Glade, yellow, pallida). From frig go to space on kitchen table by window and a couple of extra regular lights. The purples usually germinate fairly easy, others not so much.
I try to water with Johns Recipe about 1/week until ready to bump up. From peat pellet, put in 4" pot, usually MG potting mix (hey it's easy and works!). Once up, if they make go to qt pots, or could go in ground.

If started in Jan, the regular purple may bloom 1st year (according to seed packet). As most are 2nd year to bloom, doesn't matter when to start during the year. I do more perennials in the summer when space is freed up. Try to get them going and potted before frost. I keep inside on kitchen table to sprouting, partly as I can watch them, then put out in sheltered spot.

I do have a problem with the mites or whatever it is getting to the new babies. I'm still working on that issue.

[nltaff]

Thanks for all the input. Applestar, it looks like we haunt the same sites-read that Missouri botanical site a lot! I guess I'm just going to go with plants for awhile. I do want to try building a cold frame at some point over the next year, and if I do, I will try doing what some sites say, and start seed on top of trays in the summer/fall. Leave them to overwinter there where the hungry birds can't get at them. As for the mites-that is the one thing I haven't seen in my greenhouse. I agree, it does look like tiny insect damage, but ONLY the coneflowers exhibit that kind of leaf damage. Puzzling. I do have a problem with box elder bugs. Next time I see one, I'll take a picture before I swat it. They supposedly like to chew on maple leaves, and they invade everywhere in the fall. I've had several in the greenhouse.