Yellow coneflower

Sun

Full sun; tolerates light shade but flowers less and may lean.

Water

Water regularly during establishment. Once established, water during prolonged drought; avoid persistently wet soil.

Soil

Well-drained sandy, gravelly or loamy soil, including limestone-derived soils. Tolerates lean soil but dislikes waterlogged ground, especially in winter.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Spread

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Flowers

Early to midsummer; narrow, drooping yellow petals surrounding a prominent dark brown cone.

Foliage

Narrow, lance-shaped green leaves, mostly clustered near the base, with smaller leaves along the flower stems.

Growth

Moderate; seed-grown plants may take two or three years to flower well.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

3. After 2 years

   2 ft (0.6 m)

4. After 3 years

   2.5 ft (0.75 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water deeply during dry spells in the first growing season, allowing the surface soil to dry between waterings.
• Avoid routine feeding; rich soil and excess nitrogen encourage weak, floppy growth.
• Keep mulch away from the crown and improve drainage before planting in heavy soil.
• Plant among upright grasses or use discreet supports if stems lean in exposed positions.
• Leave established clumps undisturbed where possible; their deep roots make division difficult.

Pruning. Remove spent flower heads in summer if you want to limit self-seeding, or leave them for birds and winter structure. Cut dead stems to just above ground level in late winter or early spring before new shoots lengthen.

Late winter

Cut down old stems before fresh growth starts, taking care around emerging shoots.

Spring

Plant into well-drained soil and water thoroughly; protect young shoots from slugs.

Early summer

Check new plants during dry weather and support leaning stems if needed.

Midsummer

Deadhead selectively, or retain cones for seed and wildlife.

Autumn

Collect ripe seed or sow outdoors so winter cold can help break dormancy.

Winter

Check that water is not collecting around crowns, especially in heavy soil.

• Plant in small groups through sunny prairie-style borders with little bluestem and prairie dropseed.
• Combine with purple coneflowers and blazing star for contrasting flower colours and shapes.
• Use in sunny gravel gardens where drainage is sharp and summer watering is limited.
• Place beside paths or seating areas where you can watch pollinators and enjoy the distinctive cones.

Garden styles it suits: Native meadow, New perennial (prairie), Pollinator garden, Wildflower, Dry gravel garden and Midwest prairie.

Plant it with: Little bluestem, Prairie dropseed, Butterfly weed, Blazing star, Purple coneflower and Wild bergamot.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies. Retained seed heads feed seed-eating birds, including goldfinches in North America.

• Crown or root rot in wet soil: improve drainage, keep mulch off the crown and avoid planting in winter-wet sites.
• Slugs and snails eating young shoots: inspect new growth and use hand-picking or suitable barriers.
• Aster yellows causing green, distorted flowers and stunted growth: remove and dispose of affected plants; there is no cure.
• Floppy stems in shade or rich soil: move to full sun, stop nitrogen feeding and support stems if necessary.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. Species-specific safety information is limited, so do not treat the leaves, flowers, seeds or roots as food; eating plant material may cause stomach upset.

• Grey-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)

  Also has drooping yellow petals, but its leaves are deeply divided into narrow segments rather than simple and lance-shaped.

• Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

  Usually has broader, toothed leaves and yellow petals held more horizontally around a less elongated cone.

• Pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida)

  Has a similar slender habit and strongly drooping petals, but the petals are pale pink to purplish rather than yellow.

Echinacea comes from the Greek word for hedgehog, referring to the prickly cone, while paradoxa refers to the unexpected yellow flowers in a genus best known for pink and purple ones.

Propagation. Grow from seed sown outdoors in autumn, or cold-moist stratify seed before spring sowing. Seedlings may vary or hybridise where other Echinacea species grow nearby. Division is possible but difficult because of the deep root system; seed is generally the simpler method.

Accepted botanical name

Echinacea paradoxa

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.