Definitely needs support in my garden. Use two or three 2-foot long sticks from spring tree prunings and set the sticks behind a clump. Then tie green twine loosely around the stems and sticks, The supports will be barely visible in a couple of days, and the plants can flower upright for all to see.

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Habitat: open, limestone soil, common along roadsides and on prairies. Range: on most of the Great Plains, along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains; west to Arizona; south to Mexico.

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Very easy to grow. In a home wildflower or perennial garden, it is a plant that will bloom freely over a long period, makes a good and interesting long-stemmed cut flower, and does well in hot, dry, poor soil. It is a perennial member of the Aster family, and close relatives include sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, shasta daisies, and purple coneflower.

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"Ratibida columnifera, commonly known as Upright Prairie Coneflower or Mexican Hat, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae, that is native to much of North America. It inhabits prairies, plains, roadsides, and disturbed areas from southern Canada through most of the United States to northern Mexico."

Taken from wikipedia's page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...

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This plant has been one of the toughest plants in my garden. It has a long blooming period, it tolerates heat and drought, and has a nice evergreen rosette in Winter. I'm planting it in various parts of my garden now, and I started some of the yellow flowered one this year.

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