Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor'

Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor': Gold Medal Magenta, No Waiting

'Prairie Splendor' starts blooming early and simply never got the memo to stop. Bright rose-magenta petals circle a big orange-brown cone on a bushy plant that treats summer like a marathon it's WINNING.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor'
• Common Name: Purple Coneflower
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Bright rose-magenta petals around a large orange-brown cone
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Deep green, on a bushy, rounded clump
• Features: Good for cutting and drying

Where to Plant: Its medium size suits the front or middle of a border, a small city garden or a large container, and it works well in drifts in a pollinator meadow. It shrugs off cold winters and copes with clay if water drains away in spring.

Companion Plants: Use 'Prairie Splendor' in a sunny, dry bed with white candytuft, steel-blue globes and red grass. Iberis 'Snowsation' opens white candytuft at 15 to 20 cm in May and June. Dianthus Fruit Punch® 'Classic Coral' adds double coral pinks at 20 to 25 cm from June to September. Echinops ritro brings spiky steel-blue globes at 90 to 120 cm from July to September. Imperata 'Red Baron' adds upright blades that turn blood red, at 45 to 50 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun in average, well-drained soil. Skip the heavy fertilizer. Water regularly through the first season, then only in long dry spells. Deadhead to stretch the bloom season. Let the last flowers go to seed for goldfinches and winter interest, then cut the stems back in early spring. Divide in spring every few years if the clump gets crowded.

History: 'Prairie Splendor' was bred by S&G Flowers to flower in its first year from seed, and it won a Fleuroselect Gold Medal, the European award for new seed-raised varieties. Its parent species, Echinacea purpurea, grows wild on prairies and in open woods across central and eastern North America.

Final Thoughts: Cut some for the vase, dry some for winter and leave the rest for the bees. EVERYBODY GETS A SLICE.