Looking at Plants

Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow Wild Berry’

COMMON NAMES

PowWow Wild Berry Coneflower

Echinacea (ek-ih-NAY-see-uh) - from the Greek for hedgehog, in reference to the prickly center cone of the flower

purpurea (pur-PYOO-ree-uh) – purple

‘PowWow Wild Berry’ – cultivar name

OTHER NAMES / SYNONYMS

Echinacea purpurea ‘PAS702917’

GROUP 

Dicot

FAMILY 

Asteraceae

ORIGIN

United States

DESCRIPTION

PowWow Wild Berry Coneflower is an evergreen herbaceous perennial that averages 18 to 24 inches in height and 1 to 1 ½ feet in width. It is upright and clump-forming with a moderate to fast growth rate.

Leaves are evergreen, 3 to 4 inches long, simple, alternate in arrangement, and dark green.

The daisy-like flowers are an average of 3 to 4 or more inches across, are borne on upright stems, and the large petals surround a copper-colored, large prickly cone. Color can be somewhat variable in hues ranging from purplish/pink to dark rose to magenta. Bloom period is summer to fall.

The prickly cone center produces a heavy crop of seeds.

HARDINESS

Hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9, it will survive down to about -20 degrees F. It seems to tolerate heat well.

LIGHT

Full sun / partial shade in hotter zones

SALT

Moderate Salt Spray Tolerance – it will tolerate some spray, but it is best to have more protection such as a fence or building as an additional barrier behind the first row of plantings or the first dunes.

SOIL

It will grow on a wide variety of well-drained soils in the pH range of 5.5 to 6.5.

WATERING

It has good drought tolerance once established, so minimal watering is needed for survival in dry spells. As with most plants, though, ample irrigation in droughts keeps it healthier and looking better.

PROPAGATION

Seed; basal and root cuttings taken in the fall; division of the clumps every 3 or 4 years

PRUNING

Deadhead to extend flowering unless seed formation is desired.

FERTILIZING

It has no special fertilizer needs. Unless a soil test suggests otherwise, a slow-release balanced analysis fertilizer applied per the product label will work.

PESTS

Japanese Beetle - University of Florida

Leafminers - University of California

DISEASES

Powdery Mildew - University of California

Botrytis/Gray Mold - Missouri Botanical Gardens

PseudomonasLeaf Spot - University of Illinois

Xanthomonas Leaf Spot - University of Illinois

DEER

Tolerant; rarely bothered

There are very few totally “deer-proof” plants. There are also, relatively speaking, few plants that are considered a preferred food supply of deer. Most plants fall in the big gap between. One of the biggest variables is the available preferred food supply in a given area. If their preferred food is scarce, they will munch on most anything.

OTHER

Good butterfly plant

Good cut flower

Birds love the seeds

USES

Containers, mass planting, borders, mixed planting, butterfly gardens, perennial garden

TOXICITY

University of California lists Echinacea spp. (Purple Coneflower) as a safe plant.

California Poison Control lists Echinacea spp. (Coneflower) as non-toxic.