Echinacea Mac n Cheese - Purple Coneflower

Echinacea Mac 'n' Cheese is a generously flowering, particularly dazzling perennial with its sunny golden yellow colour and radiant flat shape that evolves throughout blooming. It starts with a dense and bushy daisy-like flower with a green heart, which gradually opens up and swells like a cushion, finally revealing ligules on the periphery. Afterwards, the achenes (their seeds) take over to the delight of birds that feast on them. This robust plant flowers in August and September and welcomes autumn with pleasure, thanks in particular to its charming appearance, and the fresh and dried bouquets it gives.

Echinacea purpurea 'Mac 'n' Cheese' is the result of the fourth generation of sowings carried out from the pollination of 'Ruby Giant' Echinacea purpurea by Echinacea paradoxa. Originating from North America, where they have already naturally colonized many states, Echinaceas have been with us for many years. They spontaneously settle in wild spaces: vast meadows, forest edges, roadsides... As a result, they are content with any type of soil and climate and display a robust hardiness that gardeners appreciate. However, they prefer deep, well-drained soils and will establish themselves more easily (and therefore withstand drought afterwards) if they are initially planted in moist soil. They may take time to settle, but then they prove to be resistant and long-lasting. Echinacea is a plant close to Rudbeckias that thrives in the sun, but also in light shade. It requires almost no care, except for removing faded flowers as desired.

It is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, which has an upright and bushy habit. The leaves are deciduous, medium green, hairy, and quite thick. They are lanceolate, longer and more numerous at the base, but alternate and sparse along the stems. These stems are long, sturdy, and bear large 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) diameter heads at their tops. The numerous crossbreedings from which most varieties now originate have multiplied their characteristics with many colours and shapes. They are all composed of a heart which is often brown, shaped like a cone, and sometimes cylindrical, which can become very prominent. It is surrounded by long or short ligules in one or more rows, giving it either the appearance of a large daisy, or the dishevelled look of a pompom. The variations are limitless, and everyone will find their favourite in the cultivars now available. Their always vibrant hues are essential in flower beds or even containers. They also actively enliven the garden thanks to the pollinators they attract.

'Mac 'n' Cheese' is the gem of multicoloured ensembles. Particularly at home in yellow-orange flower beds, it shines alongside Dahlias, Grasses, and its counterparts of the same genus (Harvest Moon and Tangerine Dream). Its height (70 cm (28in)), tall enough to be in the background in small spaces, is perfect for larger gardens and punctuating the palette of summer plants with bright spots.