Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

Hills guide picknative · Central Texas

Purple Coneflower is a perennial native to Central Texas that grows 1–3 ft tall and 3 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles clay soil. Blooms pink and purple in early summer. Good for butterflies and hummingbirds.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Upright perennial with pink-purple daisies and prominent orange centers, blooming late spring into summer.

Why it works here

Nectar for butterflies through bloom, then seed heads that goldfinches strip through winter. Leave them standing.

Watch out

Prefers a bit more moisture than most on this list. Wants morning sun and afternoon shade in the worst part of summer.

The facts

7 sources

Type: Perennial
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low
Height: 1–3 ft
Spread: 3 ft
Bloom: Early Summer · pink, purple
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on clay, limestone, loam, moist, sand, well drained
Deer: Low — deer eat it; cage or plant where they cannot reach. Browsed heavily
Wildlife: Supports butterflies and hummingbirds

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

No Level IV record in the launch area yet. Recorded in these Texas ecoregions:

Western Gulf Coastal Plain

7 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.