This is a good time of year to make your wish list of new perennial flowers for your garden. I like to read variety trials from public gardens located in similar growing zones to get ideas. One recent trail of echinacea varieties from the Mt. Cuba Center in Wilmington, Delaware caught my eye.
Mt. Cuba is in hardiness zone 6/7 so the growing conditions are similar to most of Connecticut. They trialed 75 varieties over a 3 year period looking for varieties with the best growth habit, flower display and retention, vigor, disease resistance and attractiveness to pollinators.
So, here's the winners. 'Pica Bella' is a short, compact variety with purple flower petals and an orange cone. It grew strong, flowered a long time and was a favorite of pollinators. A taller, and larger flowered, pink version, 'Sensation Pink' was also one of the top pollinator-friendly varieties. 'Postman' is unusual for its large, yellow flower buds that open to crimson colored flowers and fade to a watermelon pink color in fall. 'Fragrant Angel' was the best white flowered colored variety. The large, scented flowers were also the top variety for bees, butterflies and wasps. 'Kismet Intense Orange' was one of the best orange petaled varieties for its abundant flowers and striking color.
While double petaled varieties have longer lasting flowers, single petaled varieties generally performed better and are more attractive to pollinators. Deadheading will force a second bloom on echinacea, but it's good to let the flowers to go to seed for the gold finches and other birds in fall. For more on this plant trial go to mtcubacenter.org.
