Echinacea SunMagic® Vintage Pink

Echinacea SunMagic® Vintage Pink: Rosy Pink Coneflowers With Tidy Manners

Rosy pink petals laid out broad and flat around a raised orange cone, like a thrift store sundress that turns out to be designer. This coneflower has OLD MONEY ENERGY ON A GARDEN BUDGET.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Echinacea hybrid
• Common Name: Coneflower
• Series: SunMagic® Vintage, from Bull Plant Genetics
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Large, rosy pink daisies with broad, flat petals around a raised orange cone
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Green, on a compact, mounding, well-branched plant
• Features: Good cut flower

Where to Plant: Its tidy, rounded shape suits the front or middle of a sunny border, and it's sturdy enough for a large patio container. Plant three or five together for a bigger patch of colour. Leave a few seed heads standing in fall for the goldfinches.

Companion Plants: Plant Vintage Pink in a sunny, dry bed with purple phlox, creamy pea flowers and tall lavender-pink phlomis. Phlox subulata 'Purple Beauty' carpets the front at 10 to 15 cm with purple flowers in May and June. Baptisia Decadence® 'Vanilla Cream' adds creamy white spikes at 76 to 91 cm in June. Phlomis tuberosa brings whorls of lavender-pink flowers at 90 to 150 cm from June to August. Panicum 'Northwind' rises behind at 150 cm in flower, stiff and blue-green.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the most flowers, in average, well-drained soil. Coneflowers cope with clay as long as water doesn't sit around the crown over winter. Good drainage is the biggest factor in bringing hybrid coneflowers back each spring. Water regularly through the first summer, then only during long dry spells. Skip the rich compost and heavy feeding, which give you soft, floppy growth. Deadhead spent flowers to keep new buds coming. Leave the last flower heads for winter interest and cut the stems back in early spring. It's happiest left in place, so divide only if the clump gets crowded, and do it in spring.

History: The SunMagic® Vintage series comes from Bull Plant Genetics, a German breeding company that aimed for strong branching from the base and flowers on every branch. The genus name Echinacea comes from the Greek word for hedgehog, a nod to the spiny cone.

Final Thoughts: Plant it in a sunny border and let it take the classic look for a spin. THE BEES ARE ALREADY LINED UP FOR THE FITTING ROOM.