Echinacea purpurea Augustkönigin - Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea 'Augustkönigin' bears its name of "queen of August" admirably. This superb variety of purple coneflower forms a large bouquet of pink flowers with a brown-purple cone during almost 3 months in summer. The plant, with sturdy stems, maintains a neat upright appearance in borders while providing good flowers for fresh or dried bouquets. The purple coneflower is also a very resistant plant that is easily grown in the garden. And its flowers are visited by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.  

Originally from the western United States, from Georgia to Michigan via Oklahoma and Ohio, the Echinacea purpurea (or Rudbeckia purpurea) is a perennial with a strong character, which doesn't resemble anything known, but which confidently colonizes rocky meadows, savannas, clear undergrowth, and roadside edges in its natural habitat. The 'Augustkönigin' Coneflower (its name is sometimes erroneously written 'August Koningin') is a horticultural selection. When mature, it displays an upright tufted habit and measures approximately 75cm (30in) in height by 45cm (18in) in width. This plant does not weaken or collapse, demonstrating very good stability. The opposite lanceolate green leaves are covered in rough hairs. The flowering, slightly fragrant, takes place from July until late September, accompanying that of inulas, asters, and ornamental tobaccos. It is visited by butterflies. The branched reddish stems bear at the end of each branch an inflorescence in the form of a large head measuring 12 to 15cm (5 to 6in) in diameter, with a prominent central disk and a conical shape, composed of tiny florets, brown-purple to orange-brown. The cone is surrounded by fairly thin ligules, of a fairly light pink colour, slightly drooping. The fruit is an achene releasing seeds that birds are fond of. This plant anchors itself firmly and deeply in the soil, using its highly developed root system. Its above-ground vegetation, deciduous, dries up in autumn.  

The purple Echinacea 'Augustkönigin' offers a long-lasting pastel and luminous flowering, pleasant to contemplate until the beginning of autumn. It will be planted in large borders and mixed with other pink flowers with contrasting forms (ornamental tobaccos, daylilies, columbines, Phlox) or in the company of asters, yarrows, and daisies. Lighten the scene by mixing in some ornamental grasses such as Stipa tenuifolia, Muhlenbergia capillaris... Splendid in borders, the beautiful colour of the purple coneflower is also very attractive in fresh or dried flower arrangements.

The scent of the Echinacea is not the same depending on the stage of flowering. Initially, when the florets are presented in an upright crown, the scent is barely perceptible. At full bloom, when the florets droop as if drained of their strength, it exhales a fine honey scent, very attractive to bees, butterflies, and other insects. As soon as the head is pollinated, the scent takes on a more vanilla note.

Properties: In homeopathy, its root is used to fight against colds and to strengthen the immune system. These properties were already used by Native Americans. The name Echinacea comes from the Greek echinos, which means "hedgehog-like" or "like a hedgehog," and acea, meaning "having the shape of," alluding to the flower heads. Purpurea means "purple."