Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A classic, long-blooming prairie perennial with prominent spiky orange-brown cones surrounded by drooping magenta-purple rays. Drought-tolerant once established and a magnet for swallowtails and native bees all summer. Leave the stiff, dark seedheads standing into winter to feed goldfinches and add cold-season garden structure.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–5 ft
- Spacing
- 1.5–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral
- Bloom
- April, May, June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- pink, purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators
- Landscape uses
- border, naturalizing, rain garden
- Native states
- AL, AR, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, WI
Related native plants
More Echinacea species
- Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
- Narrowleaf Coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)
- Tennessee Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis)
- Sanguine Coneflower (Echinacea sanguinea)
- Yellow Coneflower (Echinacea paradoxa)