Can you please give me insight into why this happened? They bloomed lovely last year and the leaves are green and healthy no spots or yellowed leaves its really bizarre. Thanks! BTW I did cut them off and throw them away.

Kat! I have had that happen to mine as well and don't know why. Hopefully Clint will jump in here soon. He is an echinacea guru!

Thanks abhege, I am so happy to find this forum...I have been pretty lucky with my plants and never really had any major problems before, well other than the evil Japanese beetles that I wage war with every year! Come on Clint, do you have any idea?

Let's see if he gets this hallo @clintbrown

If the spring weather is very cool and wet, I've had some blooms do this way on my Echinaceas. I found a photo of Alternaria stem rot that I've seen in some Echinacea. 'Tiki Torch' is especially prone to this. Did the blooms do like the ones in this photo?



I usually just cut the affected stalks back when I see this. Look for any spots on the leaves and remove the leaves with spots. They may be small and difficult to see. In early Spring if it is especially rainy and cloudy a spray with Daconil or other fungicide usually helps prevent the loss of blooms. Echinacea pallida also has this quite often. I used to spray it as a preventative measure every year. If Echinacea pallida gets this, you have to wait an entire year to see them bloom again. Luckily, some of the newer varieties will rebloom if they are treated. Here is a photo of the product I've used to prevent the loss of blooms in certain plants.



I hope this helps. I bet your weather was really cool and damp this spring. If it was, that is really what caused all your problems. I'd spray with Daconil next Spring when the plants come up before they start getting buds to bloom.