Echinacea purpurea 'Jsroho' ROBIN HOOD

More and more breeders hybridize new coneflowers in order to achieve richer colours on a compact plant. In typically perennial beds tall plants are usually required more, however, in small city gardens and front yards a compact, profusely flowering perennial is more than welcome. One of them is this coneflower bred by Jan Spruyt at Spruyt Select in Belgium. All his inventions are called using his initials JS and this one was named JS Roho and the trade name is ROBIN HOOD. European patent No. 52793 was granted in 2019.

ROBIN HOOD is a true purple conflower, not a hybrid, producing vibrant purple pink, strongly fragrant flowers with deep orange, flattened central discs. The colour does not bleed when fading out. Flowers appear from early July atop strong, green, well branched stems 50-60 cm tall. Lanceolate leaves are dark green and grow from the ground and up along the stems. Flowers attract butterflies and bumble bees.

The plant is usually trouble-free and resistant, just be careful if slugs are present in your garden. Since coneflowers emerge quite late, often when slugs are already in their lethal strength, they could gobble up newly emerging foliage totally and thus destroy the plant before it even comes out.

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 min -34°C (USDA zone 4).


Last update 07-08-2020