Echinacea purpurea Prairie Pillars™ 'Fragrant Angel'

A sweet perfume has been about the only desirable attribute missing from Coneflowers, and here it is: Echinacea purpurea Prairie Pillars™ 'Fragrant Angel' boasts large fragrant white flowers. The double rows of petals are held horizontally, making the show even better. The tall, vigorous plants are strongly branched and flower profusely all summer long. 'Fragrant Angel' makes a great cut flower, and is equally at home in formal borders or prairie plantings. A butterfly magnet, just like its cousins.

Echinacea, a North American genus in the Daisy family, has big, bright flowers that appear in late June and keep coming into September. Plants thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions, shrug off cold, and are equally at home in full sun or partial shade. Blooms last well as cut or dried flowers, and the large cone at the heart of the flower head turns black as the seeds mature, adding further interest and providing nourishment for goldfinches. Coneflower, E. purpurea, is a rugged species that is native from Iowa and Ohio south to Louisiana and Georgia, and is a great garden plant everywhere in between.

For information on the growing and care of Echinacea, click Growing Guide.