Toni, do you mean that you have trouble growing them from seed, or getting store-bought plants to survive in the garden?
Some folks do have trouble germinating the seeds. They might not be the easiest seeds to grow, but not all that hard, either.
In the garden, they like sun, probably 5 or 6 hours a day for good flowering. They also need good drainage. Winter wet with clay soil might require some soil amending for them to thrive. Other than that, the plain old purple coneflowers are pretty tough and long-lived. But many of the newer cultivars have proved to be short-lived for lots of us. Most don't seem to be as tough as the old purple.
Karen
