USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-9b  Find Your Zone

Plant Type:  Perennial 

Flower Color:  Tomato-Red Shades

Flower Size:  Very Large, 5"

Flowering Period:  Early Summer to Early Fall

Flower Type:  Coneflower

Fragrant Flowers:  Yes!

Foliage Color:  Green

Fragrant Foliage:  No

Berries:  No

Berry Color:  No

Attracts:  Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Beneficial Pollinators, Songbirds, Visual Attention

Resistances:  Deer, Disease, Heat, Humidity, Insect, Rabbit

A fourth generation seedling from a planned cross between Echinacea paradoxa and Echinacea purpurea ‘Ruby Giant’, the 'Tomato Soup' Coneflower wows with abundant, bright tomato-red flowers. It is an upright perennial growing 2 to 3 feet tall with large 5-inch flowers perched atop tall and sturdy well-branched stems that do not need staking. The slightly drooping petals surround a rounded, dark golden-brown center cone. In our gardens the flowers start showing up in late spring and continue to late summer, sometimes with additional sporadic bloom until frost. Butterflies, hummingbirds and other beneficial pollinators love the flowers, and the birds love the seeds. So make sure to leave some spent flowers on the plant towards the end of the flowering season. The long-lasting flowers are also excellent for cutting and use in fresh or dried floral arrangements. A very hardy and showy flowering perennial that will return year after year in the garden.

Growing 24 to 36 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide, the Tomato Soup Coneflower is ideal for use as an accent in smaller garden spaces and large mixed container gardens or in groupings or mass plantings in sunny perennial, landscape and woodland borders. A fine addition to butterfly and hummingbird gardens, bird gardens, cut flower gardens, red theme gardens and cottage gardens.

Suggested Spacing:  18 to 24 inches apart for groupings

Coneflowers are very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility in full sun or part shade. Provide at least 5 hours of direct sun for best flowering. As with many other perennial plants, constantly soggy or wet soils can be problematic. Heavy, dense clay soils should be amended with organic matter to improve drainage. No deadheading necessary though spent flowers can be removed if desired. Towards the end of the flowering season, leave some spent flowers on the plant for the birds to feed on. Feed in spring with a good flower food or organic plant food.