Echinacea SOMBRERO™ DOUBLE LIME coneflower

SOMBRERO™ DOUBLE LIME is a unique coneflower introduction from 2023. It bears double flowers composed of one layer of long, single ray florets and a dense cone-head packed with small, tubular, disc florets. Their colour is pale lime green which may get a slightly warmer shade when dark orange stamens appear. It is a compact variety producing rather short stems only about 30-40 cm tall with several flushes of flowers from July until late September. The discs hide plenty of nectar attractive for butterflies, bumble bees, and bees can find a way to get to the dinner table, too. Deadhead spent flowers regularly and feed the plants every two weeks during summer. Leaves are medium green, lanceolate, and may suffer from diseases if grown in wet or compacted soil.

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 03-09-2023