If you see these plants for sale, you must try them. They are simply perfect. Here is my Sombrero 'Salsa Red' in the second year. I'm growing it in a partially shady spot, and it still blooms well!

Sombrero 'Sandy Yellow' is also doing well.

Another great plus for these is they have great branching and no deformed petals/blooms.

Those both look great. I'll be watching for them.

I picked up Salsa Red a couple of weeks ago , Looking forward to it,s first bloom.

I think the Sombrero series are the best of the colored varieties. 'Salsa Red' really does stand out more than any Echinacea I've ever grown.

Those are beautiful.

I definitely want the Salsa Red.

Wow, I hadn't even heard of them but really into echinaceas this year so if I see them I will just "have to" get them!!!!

Arlene, if you get serious about the Echinacea check out Clint's Cubit sometime. http://cubits.org/echinaceas/

I just ordered two from Romance Gardens because they had a couple of rose bushes I wanted but I had to delete the rose bushes because the shipping was 38.44 extra, I guess it was the big pots they send. I will just order one at a time but for now I am just getting the coneflowers.


Clint, do you know where I can get the Red Sombrero? My Lowe's is out of them.

Susan - I got mine at Lowes, but Great Garden Plants has them. Forest Farm had them too. I would keep checking Lowes because they keep getting Echinacras this time of year because they are blooming now.

Here are some new photos of it.

You must have a better Lowes than I do - mine only carries very plain jane varieties of anything - I have better luck at the grocery store front nursery! Which can be dangerous in its own way, I typically fill my child basket with plants before heading in for groceries.

Lowes in my area is really doing a great job with their selections. I hope they keep it up.

Lucky you, I hope so as well. Perhaps it depends on whether the store manager is a plant person or not.

Clint, check this out. I tried to order a few coneflowers from Forestfarm and this is the message I got at checkout. The only option is Via Air and it is $36.50 for shipping.

'shipping to the East is generally not feasible at this time of year. Please call to inquire about the possibility of ground shipping to the northern Midwestern states. If you wish to have some plants shipped via Air and some via ground, please make separate orders'.

Everyone else is shipping to the east, where are they? If they are on the west coast or something then I will forget the whole thing. They will be dead by the time they get here. I cannot afford to buy them an air ticket. LOL.

They are from Oregon .I have looked at some of their plants , but they want way to much for shipping.

I ordered from them before. I bet it's just because it is so late in the season. I hope Lowes gets these again!

Me too, but I was really liking the selection at Forest Farms!

I recently read an article in Garden Gate that if you buy one of the newer hot-colored echinaceas in a 4" pot or smaller, you should pinch off the flower stalks and let it concentrate on bulking up the foliage for a season. Who has the self-restraint for that??

I won't buy them unless I can find a gallon pot in bloom. If a plant is too weak to grow normally, I avoid them now. Often times if you pinch the blooms off they still don't return after winter..,Then you never got to see them bloom. The Sombrero series seems to be better in many aspects, including the branching/fullness of the plant. Terra Nova's Echinaceas have poor branching. I don't buy their Echinaceas anymore. I hear they are improving, but not up to their competition just yet.

I actually cut off the flowers on all my new perennial plantings, no matter the size. Its awful and I hate to do it! And right now I have an Echinacea I planted on Sunday bloom still intact. I needed to savor it for just a bit!!! But off it goes tonight or tomorrow

The Echinacea plants often are just weak plants. Terra Nova had one called 'Mac 'n Cheese' that was a disaster for most people. Nothing I tried made that one grow. Their plants have great colors, but they are such poor growers. The Sombrero plants are the best of the colored varieties I've seen.

I don't pinch blooms from anything anymore. So far so good!