Ratibida columnifera Red Midget - Mexican Hat

The Ratibida columnifera Red Midget is a compact form of a plant called Sombrero or Mexican Hat. It charms with its light appearance and pleasantly eccentric summer flowering, as well as its fearless and generous temperament. Native to the great plains of the United States, this short-lived perennial that freely self-seeds is perfect for dynamic gardens, flowery meadows, and country beds. Hardy, undemanding, and very water-efficient, it is easy to grow in the sun, in any not too heavy garden soil.

The Ratibida columnifera Red Midget belongs to the asteraceae family, just like its cousin the echinacea that resembles it. In its native lands, it is called long-headed echinacea, or prairie coneflower. It is a herbaceous plant, perennial from its stump, with a lifespan of no more than 3 or 4 years. It quickly forms a tuft about 50-60 cm (20-24in) high and 40 cm (16in) wide composed of numerous leafy ramified stems. The foliage persists in winter if the plant is pruned in autumn. It consists of finely divided leaves with linear segments of gray-green color, somewhat reminiscent of cosmos. The flowering of Ratibida Red Midget is particularly long: it renews from June to September if the soil remains somewhat moist. At the ends of the stems, flowers in heads composed of velvety, trailing ligules in copper-red color edged with yellow bloom. In the center, a column of fertile florets sits, changing color from green to yellow and then brown. These flowers are visited by numerous butterflies and pollinating insects. The plant produces many seeds that easily germinate in light soils. They are sought after by some birds.

The Ratibida Red Midget is a plant with a strong character, both light and quirky, that resembles nothing known. It can be used in sunny beds mixed with annuals that are easy and generous such as nigellas, poppies, amaranths, or centaureas. Complete the scene by mixing in some California poppies or a few ornamental grasses like Stipa tenuifolia, Schizachyrium scoparium Blue Heaven, Muhlenbergia capillaris... Splendid in border beds, the whimsical and flamboyant flowers of Ratibida are also perfect in fresh or dried flower arrangements. Its association with Powis Castle artemisia shrub is superb!