Common Name: echinacea
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 1.50 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to July
Bloom Description: Purple-pink to pale pink
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy, Good Cut, Good Dried
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Culture
Best grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers sandy, slightly acidic soils. An adaptable plant that is tolerant of drought, heat, humidity and poor soils. Divide clumps when they become overcrowded (about every 4 years). Plants usually rebloom without deadheading. Consider leaving some seedheads standing as a winter food source for song birds. Freely self-seeds if at least some of the seed heads are left in place.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Echinacea sanguinea, commonly called sanguine purple coneflower, is a herbaceous perennial native to prairies, woodland openings, edges and other open habitats in the southcentral United States from eastern Texas to western Louisiana and north to southeastern Oklahoma and far southwestern Arkansas. Mature clumps will reach 1.5-4' tall and spread to fill a 1-3' area. The narrowly elliptic to lanceolate shaped leaves are primarily basal and will reach 4-10" long and up to 1" wide. The unbranched, purple-tinged stems are topped by a single, daisy-type flower with drooping, pale pink to pinkish-purple, 1.5-2.75" long ray florets surrounding a dark, center cone of disk florets. The main bloom period begins in late spring and continues into summer. The blooms are attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators and the seedheads are attractive to birds. Synonymous with E. pallida var. sanguinea.
Genus name of Echinacea comes from the Greek word echinos meaning hedgehog or sea urchin in reference to the spiny center cone found on most flowers in the genus.
The specific epithet sanguinea means "blood red" in reference to the color of the blooms of this species.
Problems
All coneflowers are susceptible to aster yellows and various fungal and bacterial leaf spots. Watch for erythroid mites and Japanese beetles.
Uses
Mass in the border, native plant garden, naturalized area, prairie, wildflower meadow or part shade areas of woodland garden. Good fresh cut or dried flower.