Echinacea ‚Ifecssra‘ SUNSEEKERS RAINBOW coneflower

SunSeekers RAINBOW is a third baby in this breathtaking Sunseekers Ipecss- coneflower family following the success of Sunseekers Salmon and SunSeekers White Perfection. It produces extremely large, up to 12 cm wide, semi-double flowers with several layers of ray florets shaped as a pagoda of saucers – widest at the bottom to smallest at the top. They are rich and warm apricot orange as they emerge and change to pale purple pink down the pagoda and as they age. Central discs are deep mahogany red, flat, not very large, and they hide plenty of nectar for butterflies, bumble bees as well as bees. Flowering begins later, usually in late July or early August but lasts longer – until the last sunny and warm days of autumn. Longevity of individual flowers is exceptional, too – almost 3 weeks.

Plants are compact but have exceptional vigour and dense habit. Stems are commonly about 60 cm tall. Deadhead spent flowers regularly and feed the plants every two weeks during summer. Leaves are healthy, deep green, and broadly lanceolate. SUNSEEKERS RAINBOW was bred by Jelle can den Haak and granted a US patent PP33171 in 2021. It was first introduced at the international novelty fair Plantarium 2019 where it was awarded Bronze Medal.

The plant is usually trouble-free and resistant, just be careful if slugs are present in your garden. Since coneflowers emerge quite late, often when slugs are already in their lethal strength, they could gobble up newly emerging foliage totally and thus destroy the plant before it even comes out.

Coneflower will tolerate almost any soil type but boggy. It loves full sun. It is suitable for mixed borders with perennials or can be used as a flowering feature among low shrubs and conifers, and looks lovely when planted in a mass in a container on patios and balconies. Fully hardy to min -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 05-08-2021