Love the combination, Jo Ann.

I have never had an echinacea last more than a couple of seasons for me.
What do I need to know?

They need excellent drainage and do not let them bloom after September so they can get strong for winter.

Hmmmmm.
"Do not let them bloom after September"......
THAT I would not have thought of!
I figure a plant blooms when it's ready.
But I see your point about needing the energy for winter.
That's what happens here, they just don't come back.
THIS year I will start snipping buds about mid-September, since I am a tad colder up here than you are down there.
Yikes it's 3 zones - should I snip beginning at Labor Day?

A raised area is best , they do not like wet feet.
I add sand to improve the drainage.
They are light feeders , I feed only a handful of bonemeal around the plant once a season this increases blooms.
I try not to let plug sized plants flower their first season.
Even on larger plants I do not let flower their first year after the start of Aug.
And I try not to plant any after the beginning of July unless I get a great buy.
If you give them the time to develop a good root system the first year instead of top growth you will have a much better chance of success.
I have noticed many times that the small plant that did not flower looks better year two then the big one covered with flowers its first year.
My best success has come from AB cultivars selections. And you can get a great selection of colors from the seed variety Cheyenne Spirit which are cheaper then the tissue culture selections and can be found at Home Depots and Lowe's around here.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Bob, it really does help!
I'll make them a special spot all their own until I get the hang of how to treat them.

I like them because they are one of the prettiest things that are safe to feed my bunny rabbit!

I did a new raised bed the year before last because all of mine rotted over the winter, well except the eastern purple. Bob has the best looking coneflowers around. I read an article by Tera Nova that said the same thing as Bob and I think most people get impatient and want them to bloom too fast. I purchased small plants mostly, but I am in a warmer climate so mine grew roots faster. (thanks for the reminder for the bonemeal)
I have ten clumps this year, and the noid I got from coneflower.net turned out to be 'Pink Poodle', I already had one I purchased from Burpee, they are both starting to bloom now and I am very happy with them. Also the Tennessee Coneflower I grew from seed. You will be happier if you can stick with the seed varieties. I have great success with the PowWows.

I'm so glad I asked!

It has been my understanding, some echi varoieties are not vigerous. I took the recomendation of gardeners here and bought Cheyanne Spirit.
The nice thing about our local nursery is,they had CS potted in separate colors not just a serendipitous mix.
I could do some color echoing that way.
I had ordered CS from Santa Rosa and plants came but I expect they will just be what they are, no clues until bloomtime.

being of minimal means, I often start with seeds.
And trade.

I'll try that first.....

If I see any of the warm colors on a deep discount sale anywhere though, I'l grab them!

And now I know how to treat them!

I am trying those next, I already have some mixed seed. The most vigorous to me is the old fashioned Eastern Purple. The mother plant. The Pow Wow's are vigorous too.

I heard that the Pow Wow's come true from seed too. I will save some seeds from my plants and see what happens, even if they are not 100% true the birds and butterflies will not complain!

They will only come true if only another Pow Wows pollinate it. Otherwise you will get a mix, but many turn out to be special plants.

....and the birds love the seeds and they are beautiful.

Already have American Goldfinches checking out the ech blooms: Magnus, powwow, fragrant angel and Cheyenne Spirit. Love those bright yellow birds, always startling to see something that's looks so tropical. Even when I lived in Buffalo I grew echinacea and we had goldfinches in the yard.

I usually prefer the original.
But I have a long standing distaste for pink.....
SO I want the Tiki Torches, other oranges, and yellows.

I agree about pink. It can be overdone in a garden.
I have Tikitorch and found it slow to increase the size of the clump. It stands out when it is blooming tho.

Tiki Torch is a great looking orange. but not a good grower. It seems very sensitive to moisture . Give Julia a try.
For yellow Cleopatra is a strong grower but color retention is not great, the best I have had is Leiliani.
You can get all kinds of reds - oranges and yellows in the Cheyenne Spirit mix.

Cleopatra fades really fast. I bought Julia last year but it died, I will try that one again soon along with the Leiliani. I had no plans of buying any this year unless I get some on sale at SRG. My son brought home 4-gallon sized pots of coneflowers from work, I guess they were going to throw them out but there is Cheyenne Spirit, Sombrero Sandy Yellow, Pow Wow Berry, and Pow Wow White. So I will just keep these and see what happens, plus I found Magnus or something growing behind the house, it looks happy. Here are the plants I got today.

Susan: That is a great photo.Are those Cheyanne Spirit.?
I would love to see a full entire plant photo of Magnus. Its new for me as of a few weeks ago. I have it planted with Ruby Giant which isnt as full as I had hoped after 4 years.

Yes! They are! I lucked out big time. I love Ruby Giant but mine died. I think Magnus is new, it is the second one because a friend sent the first one and I had no luck with it. I will post photo when it gets bigger.