Tennessee Coneflower

A few years back, my sister tried planting an herb garden at my place. She had a collection of seeds she planted but it didn't fare so well. She tried using one of the garden beds I had yet to renovate - that bed had been used by the previous owners for vegetables and the soil was poor and spent. Most of the seeds refused to germinate. So I popped a few plants in....like most gardeners I can't stand to see empty garden beds! Most of the plants I got from local nurseries as they tried to unload their nursery stock in mid- to late summer. But one of the plants I picked up as a local home and garden place was going out of business. (I miss Chase Pitkins!) Anyways...it was a Tennessee Coneflower.

It's taken it a few years to come into its own - especially after my sister stopped trying to "weed" it out thinking it was a weed. But it's turned into a nice plant. Unlike other Echinacea like E. purpurea, E. angustifolia, and E. pallida, its petals flex up, not down. While I like the backward curving and somewhat "droopy" petals of the other coneflowers, the Tennessee Coneflower is charming.

Like many native plants, it is hardy and needs no special care. It does not require rich garden soil or even fertilizer for that matter - I have never renovated that garden bed! Pests seem to avoid it but the butterflies and other pollinators love coneflowers. The small seed eating birds love the coneflower seed heads. (I have to beat the birds to the seed of purple coneflowers I have to collect any seed!) It is an endangered flower in its native range. Perhaps you have room for this charmer in your garden?

Here's the PlantFiles page on the Tennessee Coneflower.

-kim