Echinacea FLAME THROWER

There are plenty of coneflowers in the market today. No wonder that if a variety wants to break through it must offer something unique, extraordinary, and attractive that has not been seen before. Do you realize how we all get attracted to fire? I remember how we – small-town kids loved late summer and autumn fires at the corner of a field or behind our cottage. As if magnetized we watched its flames and could not resist poking into the glowing embers, and we never wanted to go to bed when our mums called at us.

Flame Thrower coneflower is just like that – its flowers are like glowing embers you can’t stop looking at. The ray flowers are slim and long confirming e.paradoxa genes in its blood, deep orange towards the tips and fiery ruby red near the convex, maroon cones serving plenty of nectar to bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. It has a medium strong, floral, and sweet fragrance. Blooming begins in early July and lasts until the last sunny and warm days of early autumn (October) if plants are regularly dead-headed and fed. Stems are strong, 90-100 cm tall, and withstand wind and rain. Leaves are mid green, lanceolate and may suffer from diseases if grown in wet or compacted soil. Flame Thrower was bred by my favourite breeder of flowers with rich colours Harini Korlipara from TerraNova^® Nurseries in Oregon, USA. Patent No. 21932 was granted in 2011.

The plant is usually trouble-free and resistant, just be careful is 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 06-09-2020