Echinacea purpurea 'JS Engeltje' PRETTY PARASOLS

Jan Spruyt at Spruyt Select is a perennial grower from Belgium who keeps his eyes open for plant mutations which occur in every nursery from time to time. All his findings or inventions are called using his initials JS. In 2013 in the field of purple coneflowers he found an attractive chance seedling which deserved attention. He called it JS Engeltje and its plant patent No. PP31675 was granted in 2020. Later it received a great trade named PRETTY PARASOLS. Want to know why? Keep reading.

PRETTY PARASOLS is a unique variety of purple conflower, not a hybrid coneflower, making tall but sturdy stems reaching almost one meter. Atop appear large flowers which do resemble a seaside parasol ready to be open to bring a relaxing holiday atmosphere. The ray florets are white at tips and pale purple nearer the centre. The cones are elevated, large, deep orange to brown, non-fragrant, and attract butterflies and bumble bees. Flowering begins in late July and continues until the last sunny and warm days of early autumn. Lanceolate leaves are dark green and grow from the ground up along the stems.

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 12-08-2021