Echinacea Starlight – Renee’s Garden

Echinacea purpurea

Butterfly Flowers

Weve chosen an especially striking cultivar of this long-lasting 2 to 3 foot tall perennial. Starlights 3 inch flowers have a pretty skirt of vibrant carmine-rose ray petals held almost horizontally around burnt orange centers. These vigorous blooming plants are sensational focal points of the midsummer garden and butterflies love to visit the flowers regularly. Echinacea has gained wide acceptance as an effective immune system tonic to ease the symptoms of colds and flu.

Seed Count: Approx. 60 – 65/ Weight: 0.2 g

PERENNIAL

Summer/fall bloom

Frost hardy

BEST TOSTARTEARLYINDOORS

In spring, 6 weeks before last expected frost date, sow seeds 1 inch apart in a container of seed starting mix. Cover lightly with mix, keep warm and moist, and provide a strong light source until seedlings are ready to plant out. Feed every 2 weeks with half-strength fertilizer. Once seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant 2 to 3 inches apart into a deeper container or individual pots so root systems have room to develop. When plants are 3 to 4 inches tall, gradually acclimate to outdoor conditions and plant out in full sun.

THIN OR TRANSPLANT

Space seedlings 8 to 10 inches apart.

GROWINGNOTES

Sturdy perennial echinacea, or purple coneflowers, handle a wide range of weather conditions once well established. Plants will make sturdy foliage the first season, then send up long stems of 4 inch daisy-shaped blossoms at midsummer for years. The nectar-rich florets of their cone-shaped centers attract and nourish butterflies and other pollinators.