Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Purple Coneflower is a delightful and somewhat iconic perennial that most of us can identify. Its purple flowers are showy, long-blooming, and the seeds are eaten by birds such as finches. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, and bees love the flowers. The blooms make good cut flowers.
Purple Coneflower prefers full to part sun and is best grown in moist to medium conditions in well-draining soil. Fall is the best time for planting purple coneflower since the cooler weather makes it easier for the plant to get established. Purple Coneflower needs supplemental irrigation once or twice a week in the summer after establishment. It works well when planted in en masse, as part of a border, perennial bed, meadow, prairie or woodland edge.
AT A GLANCE
| Texas native | Marginally native |
| Water use | Medium |
| Sun exposure | Sun, part sun, part shade |
| Bloom color | Pink |
| Bloom time | Spring, summer |
| Mature height | 2-3 ft |
| Mature spread | 1-3 ft |
| Attracts | Butterflies, hummingbirds |
| Host plant | Bordered Patch, Gorgone Checkerspot, Silvery Checkerspot butterflies |
| Notes | Native bee friendly |
DISTRIBUTION MAPS
 Present in state |
 Present in county and native |
 Native to North America, but adventive & escaped in state |
 Not present in state |
 Present and rare, native in county |
 Previously present, now extinct |
 Questionable presence (cross-hatched, regardless of color) |