Echinacea purpurea 'HOT PAPAYA' purple coneflower

Breeding a beautiful flower is as important as selecting a perfect name for it afterwards. This case proves the point: Hot Papaya fully describes this coneflower with fiery red flowers with deep orange shades. They are borne on 60-70 cm long stalks from June until early autumn. The stems do not break in wind or heavy rain. Flowers attract butterflies and bumble bees. Lanceolate leaves grow from the ground and sparsely up along the stems. Cutting back spent flowers down to the first leaf that hides the coming flower bud will enhance and prolong flowering until early October.

Coneflower will tolerate almost any soil type but boggy. It loves full sun. It is suitable for mixed borders with perennials, or can be used as a flowering feature among low shrubs and conifers, and looks lovely when planted in a mass in a container on patios and balconies. Fully hardy to about -40°C (USDA zone 3).

Last update 03-10-2011