You may have noticed that I spend a lot of time talking about the names of the plants in my weekly profiles. That is partially because I am a bit of a word nerd and enjoy understanding the etymology of words and phrases, and partly because I think that it reflects the history of our relationship to each plant. In some cases though, the names are just terrible. Purple coneflower is one that bugs me. Ok, so no issue with the coneflower portion - it is indeed a flower with a cone shape. But the color purple is a passion of mine, and I have never, never seen a purple coneflower that you could convince me was anything other than pink. If you have one, I would be delighted to see it!

Ok, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, we can continue. The roots and leaves of echinacea have long been used medicinally to stimulate the immune system and treat inflammation, infections, and pain. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, “Extracts are thought to improve white blood count. Echinacin stops bacteria from forming the hyaluronidase enzyme, which helps make cells more susceptible to infection. It’s a mild natural antibiotic.” In fact, this has historically led to its overharvesting and decline, which can seem surprising given how ubiquitous it is in gardens across the nation. In fact, any established wild populations in Virginia are likely escaped from cultivation, and it is not considered a true native to the East coast. That said, it is such an excellent food source for beneficial insects and birds that this Midwestern neighbor generally falls into the category of “native enough”.

Coneflower seed heads are an important food source for birds in winter, especially goldfinches. American Goldfinches nest later in the year than most songbirds, beginning in late June with peak nesting in late July and early August. This is likely related to the fact that goldfinches do not feed their young insects like other songbirds, but instead rely solely on a diet of regurgitated seeds, such as those from thistles, milkweed, and coneflowers that seed in late summer. Several times in the last week I have seen posts in my native plant groups wondering what bug might be chewing the petals off their purple coneflower. It turns out that the “pest” in question are goldfinches, who eat the petals. In addition to enjoying the petals as a floral salad, this may also induce the coneflowers to go to seed earlier in the year. So plant some “not-so-purple” coneflower and rejoice when the goldfinches visit!

Check out the information below to see if this flower might be a good fit for your yard!

Bloom Time: June through August; some bloom again in the fall

Height: 2'-4' H 

Cultivation: Non-native perennial. Full sun, part shade, well-drained dry to medium moisture. Best in fertile, sandy, well-drained soils. Roots are fibrous with short woody rhizomes. Division of plants is not especially satisfactory -- results in too many stems and too few flowers. Will freely self seed on its own.

Pollination/Insect Interaction: Visited by long-tongued bees, bee flies, and butterflies (including monarchs, fritillaries, painted ladies, swallowtails, sulphurs and whites). Larval host plant for silvery checkerspot, ottoe skipper, and caterpillars of several moths.