Purple Coneflower

Purple coneflower for sale here is Echinacea purpurea, the native echinacea with pink-purple petals around a spiky orange-brown cone. We ship bare-root purple coneflower plants in packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500, for landscapers, garden centers, municipalities and anyone planting a pollinator meadow in bulk.

Purple Coneflower Size, Zones and Sun

Coneflowers stand upright rather than sprawl, so a clump gives you roughly 3 to 4 feet of height from a footprint only a foot or two wide. They flower hardest in full sun. In shade they live but sulk. Drainage matters more than soil type here, since clay, sand and rocky patches will all grow them. Zones 3 to 8 are fine, and after a season or two in the ground they stop needing rescue watering.

Purple Coneflower Blooms and Seed Heads

The petals droop a little from a high, bristly cone, and a single flower can reach about 5 inches across. Blooming runs from June into August, and the cones stay interesting long after the petals drop. Leave some heads standing in fall and goldfinches will find them. Stems left upright through winter also give stem-nesting bees somewhere to overwinter.

Purple Coneflower and Pollinators

Bees and butterflies work these flowers all summer, and the plant is a host for silvery checkerspot caterpillars. Deer usually leave it alone. If pollinators are the goal, our list of perennials that pull in pollinators shows what to plant alongside it.

Where to Plant Purple Coneflower

We see these used in sunny borders, meadow mixes, roadside plantings, rain garden edges and cottage-style beds. Plant them in drifts of 25 or more rather than ones and twos, since the flowers read better in a mass. Spacing of 18 to 24 inches lets each clump fill in. For low-effort companions, our low-maintenance perennials for busy gardeners is a good place to start.

Planting Purple Coneflower Bare-root

Bare-root plants should go in as soon as the box is open. Soak the roots for an hour, set the crown at soil level (not buried), firm the soil and water well. Water weekly through the first summer. Skip rich fertilizer, because coneflowers grow floppy when overfed.

Buying Purple Coneflower in Bulk

A pack of 100 set 18 inches apart covers about 225 square feet, and 500 will cover a good-sized slope or a long roadside strip. Plants ship bare-root in packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500, so you can match the order to the job instead of paying for extras.

Good to Know About Purple Coneflower

Plants reseed themselves, which most people like, though you can snip heads before they ripen to keep seedlings in check. Japanese beetles nibble the petals in some summers, and leaf spot can show up in wet years. Give the plants room for air to move.

Caring for Purple Coneflower

Once the plants are settled, care is light. Pull a few weeds the first year, water if a dry spell drags on, and cut the old stems down in late winter (or leave 12 to 24 inches for the bees). If the center of a clump thins out after a few years, divide it in early spring or fall and replant the pieces. Soil that's too rich or too wet gives you tall, floppy plants, so lean ground is fine.

Purple Coneflower Sizes, Packs and Shipping

Purple coneflower ships bare-root in packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500. Volume pricing available. Browse more wholesale perennials for sale.