See if they will take them back. I bet they will. The coneflowers are tricky. As I understand it they will do best when grown in a container for about 2 years & get then REALLY good & established. I think the other problem is people try to put them in full sun & in Florida full sun is killer to many plants even those that say full sun. Out full sun is 12 hours a day here in the height of summer so basically everything needs some shade here. I have 1 that keeps coming back for me so now I'm trying leaving them in pots for 2 years first. The monarda ....... I sowed some seeds last year right in the ground to do a wildflower area -- totally natural & they came up, grew well, bloomed with no care from me -- they do get some shade but not a ton. This is the one I sowed seeds of:
Lemon Mint (Monarda citriodora 'Lambada')
I have some red ones that are going gangbusters in pots but they have not yet been through the hell of a Fl. summer.
I will see just how they hold up --- I think they are going to ultimately go in an area where there is more shade available for them & I can get to them to water more often.
Zinnias do great from seed & they bloom later in the season when everything else has been beat up by the heat --- zinnias just LOVE it & the pollinators just LOVE zinnias too.
Believe it or not I have a Gaillardia that popped up in a big pot late fall & it still lives! And has bloomed through frosts & freezes -- it's crazy. If you space out the seed sowing on them you can have then going year round.
