Tough Summer Bloomers: Cone Flowers

Stunning Blooms That Shine in the Heat of Summer

Here are some of the lovely Cone Flowers, Echinacea spp., blooming in my garden right now. While many plants are literally melting away in the heat, these tough perennials are coming into their own. They show best when it's nice and hot outside...

Interestingly, many of these new varieties of cone flower have the most wonderful fragrance, which you don't get in the species or older cultivars. It's always a unexpected surprise to walk by them and get a waft of their sweet scent.

UPDATE: After several years of testing, many of these large flowered hybrids didn't stand the test of time as long-term perennials in the harsh heat of Texas, especially when growing next to a lot of heat reflecting concrete. BUT, getting a good three years out of them and the beauty they added to the garden was well worth it!