Echinacea 'PURPLE EMPEROR'

Arie Blom is a Dutch breeder of perennials, mostly coneflowers and daylilies. He belongs to those who have decided to enrich the world of coneflowers with new, richer, warmer, and so far, non-existent colours. Coneflowers are still in high demand - one might even say they are in fashion, or possibly they have never gone out of fashion because of their beauty and durability. They are simply chic. Thanks to the many new cultivars glowing with bright colours and boasting compact growth their use is no longer limited to cottage gardens, they can suit almost any type of landscape including the most modern displays.

Purple Emperor is a coneflower hybrid from the BUTTERFLY™ series bred by Ariel Blom. It produces vivid magenta red flowers atop relatively short, well branched stem which reach 40-50 cm. Central cones (discs) are maroon brown and hide plenty of nectar for bees, butterflies, and bumble bees. If regularly deadheaded and fed this variety can flower from July until September. Lanceolate leaves grow from the ground and then up along the stems. Patents: US - PP24495 (2014) and EU – 40836 (2015).

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 15-11-2020