Viewing post #2568270 by immaprofessional

LorettaNJ said:Like Bob said, mite damage is seen in the cones. So is aster yellows and budworms which I get here, not too far from you. Yours look healthy. If the blooms aren't aged, I would suspect the brown is from one of the sprays.

A few things eat the petals on coneflowers and some are night feeders - Earwigs or Asiatic Garden Beetle or slugs. Look around at night with a flashlight and see if you find anything. I love coneflowers too but so do the animals and I can't always grow them.

OK I'll look at night and see. Thanks!

Here are some pix: One thing I can't find is whether purple coneflowers start out w/ yellow petals and turn purple or is that a sign of aster yellows? At first it looked like a ground hog or something was eating the leaves, then the problem w/ the blooms started. I guess I'll be happy if I created the problem. well happy might be an exaggeration but at least not some infestation.