17 Unusual and Showy Coneflower Varieties For Your Garden

Coneflowers, also known as Echinacea, are cheerful, easy-going perennials. They are wonderfully adaptable and drought-tolerant once established. They also have superior value to pollinators and other wildlife. Most of us are familiar with the most common purple coneflower. Numerous showy coneflower varieties will bring color and vibrancy to the garden. 

When it comes to tolerance, coneflowers tolerate summer heat and humidity. They’re also cold-tolerant as far north as zone 4 and sometimes zone 3. They don’t mind poor, dry soil types, and their foliage is unappealing to rabbits and deer. 

Coneflowers are superb additions to the pollinator garden, blooming from summer to fall. They provide an excellent food source. Their stiff stems make them suitable for the cutting garden, and they have a long vase life to top it all off. 

The self-sowing ability of these perennials is excellent. They come in a wide array of heights, colors, and flower forms. They’re also easy to grow from starts or seeds. Here are some beautiful examples of showy coneflower varieties to add to your garden. 

Purple Coneflower Echinacea Seeds

• Treasured heirloom wildflower
• Native to Eastern U.S.
• Long-lived perennial
• Drought-tolerant
• Long-blooming

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Color Coded® ‘Frankly Scarlet’

	botanical name Echinacea Color Coded® ‘Frankly Scarlet’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 26″-28”
	hardiness zones 4-8

‘Frankly Scarlet’ is a tall, upright coneflower variety that makes a statement wherever you plant it. It’s compact enough for small gardens and containers, and it’s a prolific bloomer. Its height makes this one an excellent cut flower. 

As you might expect, ‘Frankly Scarlet’ has red flowers. But they’re not just run-of-the-mill red. They’re as close to neon as I’ve seen in a flower. The brilliant, scarlet petals encircle a spiky red and orange cone, with a hint of green visible at its center. 

Color Coded® ‘The Price is White’

	botanical name Echinacea Color Coded® ‘The Price is White’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 20”-22”
	hardiness zones 4-8

Cool and crisp, ‘The Price is White’ is a stunning and elegant variety with pure white petals. The white truly pops against dark, textured foliage. The flowers are large and pale, with a demure vibe. 

Although this variety isn’t particularly colorful, it stands out in its simplicity. With its orange cone at the center, it evokes daisy vibes with an edgy twist. It’s compact and fits nicely into smaller spaces. This showy coneflower variety also looks spectacular in a mass planting.

Color Coded® ‘Orange You Awesome’

	botanical name Echinacea Color Coded® ‘Orange You Awesome’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 18”-22”
	hardiness zones 4-8

This showy coneflower is an incredibly prolific, long-blooming variety. ‘Orange You Awesome’ is compact but has a big personality. The bright orange petals have a touch of purple tinge toward the center. Here, they meet up with a bold, dark orange cone. 

Most echinaceas bloom best in full sun, but some cultivars are tolerant of partial shade. This is one of those options, so if you have a spot that doesn’t quite get full sun, this is a great choice for a show, coneflower variety.

Double Coded ‘Everything’s Rosy’

	botanical name Echinacea Double Coded® ‘Everything’s Rosy’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 20”-24”
	hardiness zones 4-8

‘Everything’s Rosy’ is part of the Proven Winners Double Coded® series. These showy coneflowers are double-petaled, making them extra fancy and flashy. They resemble a Zinderella zinnia, if you’re familiar with those. But these are perennial, which is a significant bonus. 

The lower petals are perfect orchid pink and slightly reflexed. Rather than the typical central cone, the middle of these is a fluffy mound of tiny, slightly darker pink petals. It’s a robust plant that can reach up to two feet tall. 

‘Delicious Candy’

	botanical name Echinacea ‘Delicious Candy’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 18”-24”
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘Delicious Candy’ is a spectacular and exciting addition. This Dutch hybrid is an early bloomer with vibrant, double-petaled flowers. The fuchsia pink blooms are so bright they’re nearly fluorescent.

These start to flower in mid-spring, significantly earlier than most cultivars. The plants are compact and bushy, making them great producers. The outer ray petals are bright pink and slightly reflexed when fully open. The cone is also heavily decorated with tiny pink petals that create a fluffy ball on top. 

Sombrero® ‘Salsa Red’

	botanical name Echinacea Sombrero® ‘Salsa Red’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 24”-36”
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘Salsa Red’ is a sweet, spicy, and showy coneflower variety that looks amazing in the pollinator patch. It’s a moderate to substantial plant in terms of size. If we’re talking about color, though, it’s enormous. 

The single-petal flowers are electric orange-red, another variety that practically glows. The spiky, dark brown cone has tips in the same brilliant color as the petals. It’s an upright grower that creates a ton of visual impact. 

‘Butterfly Kisses’

	botanical name Echinacea purpurea ‘Butterfly Kisses’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 12”-24”
	hardiness zones 4-8

I’m just loving these double-petaled coneflower varieties. They’re so showy and beautiful! ‘Butterfly Kisses’ is a superb compact cultivar that is perfect for creating spectacular borders or growing in containers. 

Its smaller size makes this an easy plant to love, and its gorgeous blooms don’t hurt. The lower, reflexed ray petals are bubblegum pink, and the puffy mound of smaller petals is large and flashy. Just a glimpse of an orange cone is visible in the center, adding a hint of color. 

‘PowWow White’

	botanical name Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow White’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 12”-24”
	hardiness zones 3-8

The double-petaled coneflowers are stunning, but I also love the classy elegance of the white cultivars. ‘PowWow White’ is a compact variety that’s ideal for any sunny spot in the garden. It’s well-branched and has sturdy stems, making it suitable for the cutting garden. 

The single-petal blooms have crisp, white petals surrounding a bright yellow-orange cone. They have a daisy-like quality and look great in a moon garden, as the large white flowers will reflect the moonlight.

PRIMA™ ‘Tiger’

	botanical name Echinacea PRIMA™ ‘Tiger’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 18”
	hardiness zones 4-9

PRIMA™ ‘Tiger’ is a summer bloomer that will take you straight into fall with warm, inviting autumn tones. It’s short enough for the front of the border and makes a lovely potted plant. Add it to a container arrangement as a bold thriller. 

‘Tiger’ has a single-petal form. There is some variation in the coloration, but generally the petals are long and slender, with an orange hue near the center. They fade to yellow at the tips. The center cone is large and dark but tipped with the same bright orange as the petals. 

Double Scoop™ ‘Watermelon Deluxe’

	botanical name Echinacea Double Scoop™ ‘Watermelon Deluxe’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 22”-24”
	hardiness zones 4-9

Double Scoop™ ‘Watermelon Deluxe’ is the variety I’ll be looking for this year. I’m captivated by the vibrant color of this showy coneflower variety! This is an extra fluffy, double-petaled cultivar in the prettiest shade of magenta. 

‘Watermelon Deluxe’ is a mid-sized variety with long stems, making it ideal for the cutting garden. The vibrant, hot pink flowers have long, thin ray petals that reflex fully. On top of the ray petals sits a fluffy mountain of smaller petals that are so dense they completely obscure the cone!

Sombrero® ‘Baja Burgundy’

	botanical name Echinacea Sombrero® ‘Balsombabur’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 18”-22”
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘Baja Burgundy’ is part of the Sombrero® series of showy coneflower varieties. It’s a mid-sized plant that forms neat, upright mounds that are as wide as they are tall. They’re early bloomers as well, starting in early summer and lasting through the season. 

These neat clumps of medium-green foliage are adorned with a sprinkling of dark red flowers. The petals have a velvety sheen and an almost imperceptible purple tinge. The cone is neat and dark, with orange tips. 

Sunseekers™ ‘Rainbow’

	botanical name Echinacea Sunseekers™ ‘Rainbow’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 18”-24”
	hardiness zones 4-9

If you want a truly showy coneflower variety, Sunseekers™ ‘Rainbow’ is the perfect choice. This is a double-petal flower but with layers of ray petals rather than a fluffy center. It’s medium-sized and has a strong branching habit. 

The most distinctive and unique aspect of ‘Rainbow’ is its color-changing flowers. They’re pale yellow when they first open, and then as they mature, they take on darker tones. You’ll see lavender, rose, apricot, coral, and salmon, often on the same plant at the same time!

‘Lemon Drop™’

	botanical name Echinacea purpurea ‘Drop352’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 12”-24”
	hardiness zones 5-9

‘Lemon Drop™’ is a cheerful ray of pure sunshine. Its compact size means that it’s perfect for any spot you want to brighten up. This perky perennial blooms from mid-summer into the fall months, profusely if you deadhead it. 

The blooms are precisely what I would expect from a flower named ‘Lemon Drop™.’ They are full, fluffy, and bright, with a sunny, bright yellow hue. They have a hint of green in the center that adds depth to the lemony confection of small petals. 

‘Supreme™ Cantaloupe’

	botanical name Echinacea purpurea ‘Supreme™ Cantaloupe’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 24”-36”
	hardiness zones 4-10

‘Supreme™ Cantaloupe’ is another showy variety that I can’t get enough of. It’s so fun and funky, it feels like a celebration in the garden. These are extra tall and large, making them ideal for cut flowers. If you have a cutting garden, you need this coneflower. 

The color is melon orange, and ‘Supreme™ Cantaloupe’ is a fluffy, double-petaled cultivar. It performs excellently, securing its popularity. The peachy, coral, cantaloupe flowers are heavily textured with a green eye in the center of the pompom.

Double Dipped™ ‘Watermelon Sugar’

	botanical name Echinacea Double Dipped™ ‘Watermelon Sugar’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 22”-26”
	hardiness zones 4-8

Large and in charge, ‘Watermelon Sugar’ is a summertime staple. Like its namesake, it’s as sweet as a summer day picnic. The plants are substantial with a great branching habit, so they flower abundantly. The blooms are quite impressive at nearly five inches across. 

The double flowers are watermelon red with reflexed ray petals. A fluffy mound of smaller petals tops this flower-like icing on a cupcake. It’s magnificent. This is a true show-stopper. 

‘Fiery Meadow Mama’

	botanical name Echinacea ‘Fiery’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 20”-24”
	hardiness zones 5-9

‘Fiery Meadow Mama’ is a single-petaled marvel. The blooms are modest, but their color is extravagant. The long, slender petals are bright red toward the center, gradually transitioning to orange and then yellow at the tips. The red cone glows in the center of this medium-sized prolific bloomer.

Its size makes it ideal for containers and borders. It has a fantastic wildflower vibe that looks great in the pollinator garden. 

‘Tiki Torch’

	botanical name Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 28”-36”
	hardiness zones 4-9

For the cutting garden and the pollinator patch, ‘Tiki Torch’ is a wonderfully showy variety. It’s one of the tallest, reaching up to three feet! The long, stiff stems are ideal for floral arrangements, and this cultivar makes a great thriller in mixed containers.