9-7-10: Echinacea 'Ruby Giant'

This plant inspires me. My favorite part of the purple coneflower is the vibrant and brilliant orange-spiked center.

This beautiful display attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and honey bees and in late autumn the seed head is visited by finches when the seeds mature. When this passes, what finally remains is the skeleton, a bare bones structure that is bleached and hollow and remains throughout the winter. It is totally cool! My second favorite part about ‘Ruby Giant’ Echinacea is the delightful and lovely fragrance, a special treat that one is not expecting from a cone flower.

The petals on the ‘Ruby Giant’ coneflowers are dusty magenta like a ruby in the rough and tend not to droop like their ancestors, the Eastern North American echinaceas. The flowers cut well for stunning arrangements, and are available from mid summer (late June) to mid autumn (October), and often later depending on the winter.

This is a tough plant that requires little care. It likes full sun, a little summer water and organic mulch. It grows in 3 foot clumps and reaches about 3-4 feet high. Plant in large groups with daylilies, rudbeckias, lavender, cistus and Siberian iris.

Pleasant Hill Nursery is pleased to offer:

Echinacea 'Ruby Giant' in #1's: Call for Prices & to Check Availability

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