Coneflower Artisan Yellow Ombre

* Common name: Coneflower Artisan Yellow Ombre

* Botanical name: Echinacea x hybrida Yellow Ombre

* What it is: Traditional coneflowers are tall perennials with drooping pinkish-purple flowers that have a golden cone in the center. Yellow Ombre is distinctive on two fronts: it’s a stocky, compact version that grows only about 18 inches and it has flowers that bloom a vibrant yellow-gold.

   This new hybrid was good enough to earn a 2023 All-America Selections award for the Northeast region, and it’s performed very well in trials at Penn State’s Trial Gardens in Lancaster County.

   Yellow Ombre is also a perennial that starts fairly easily from seed and blooms in the first year, giving gardeners a less expensive option than buying quart- or gallon-sized plants.

   Yellow Ombre’s flowers start appearing in July and keep coming through most of the rest of the summer, especially if spent flowers are clipped off.

   Coneflowers are good pollinator plants, they’re heat- and drought-tough, and they’re not a favorite of deer. Yellow Ombre also comes with excellent disease resistance.

* Size: 16 to 18 inches tall and maybe slightly taller in rich soil. Space two feet apart.

* Where to use: Perennial borders, cut-flower gardens, south- or west-facing foundations, or any sunny bed or bank are good locations. Full sun yields best bloom.

* Care: Keep damp the first season, then water usually is not needed, except in a prolonged drought. Scatter an organic granular fertilizer formulated for flowers over the bed in early spring.

   Snip off flower stems after bloom to encourage longer bloom and to neaten the plants. Cut back foliage to the ground at the end of winter. Divide at the same time, if needed.

* Great partner: Red switchgrass and big bluestem are two good native-grass textural contrast plants that turn red in fall. Russian sage and agastache ‘Black Adder’ are good perennial partners that like the same hot and sunny locations and bloom in a coordinated purple shade.