Echinacea Cone-fections™ 'HONEYDEW' coneflower

Honeydew is a popular type of muskmelon of pale flesh colour and very sweet taste. Just like this superb coneflower. It produces 8-9 cm large, sweetly scented, fully double flowers that are rich lime green in the centre of the cone and lighter towards its margins, and almost white ray florets. Blooming begins in mid July and continues until September. It belongs to the Cone-fections™ series bred by Arie Blom in the Netherlands in 2009, and patented as PP24,630 in 2014.

Flowers attract butterflies and bumble bees, and stems reach only about 40-50 cm. Lanceolate leaves are mid-sized, grow from the ground, and smaller leaves appear along the stems. Cutting back spent flowers down to the first leaf that hides the coming flower bud, as well as occasional feeding will enhance and prolong flowering until early October.

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. Hardy to min. -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 01-08-2018