perennial
Purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Echinacea purpurea is a perennial for gardens in zones 3–8. Expect 2–4 ft of height and 1.5–2 ft of spread; our lists space it 1.5 ft apart. It does best in full sun to part sun with little water once established. Expect pink flowers in June to September. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the filler role: a flowering plant that fills the middle or front of the bed. It is native to the Midwest, Texas and the South-Central states and the Southeast. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is not listed as toxic to dogs or cats.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Echinacea purpurea
- Plant type
- Perennial, herbaceous
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 8
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Average, well-drained soil; tolerates clay and drought.
- Mature size
- 2–4 ft tall × 1.5–2 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Bloom
- Jun–Sep · pink
- Roles in a bed
- Filler
- Styles
- natural, cottage, low water
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Not on the ASPCA toxic list; no known toxic compounds.
- Native to
- Midwest, South-Central and Southeast
- Pot size and price
- 1-gallon pot, typically $10–$18 (easy to find)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water weekly through the first summer until roots establish, then only during long dry spells.
- Pruning
- Leave seed heads standing for birds; cut stems down in late winter.
Sources: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List (from general knowledge; not re-checked unless verification is web-checked); Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder and grower tags; State extension service guidance and USDA PLANTS distribution maps; Rutgers NJAES Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States and state noxious weed lists; Typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box retail listings (estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5 (as a substitute)
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8 (as a substitute)
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 4 (as a substitute)
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6 (as a substitute)
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 7
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 4
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 6
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Purple coneflower, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Shrubby cinquefoil (potentilla) 'Goldfinger'Dasiphora fruticosa 'Goldfinger'shrub · zones 2–7
- Meadow sage 'May Night'Salvia nemorosa 'May Night'perennial · zones 4–8
- Blue fescue 'Elijah Blue'Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'ornamental grass · zones 4–8
- Two-row stonecrop 'Dragon's Blood'Sedum spurium 'Dragon's Blood'succulent · zones 4–9
- Stonecrop 'Autumn Joy'Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'succulent · zones 3–9
- Lamb's ear 'Helen von Stein'Stachys byzantina 'Helen von Stein'perennial · zones 4–8
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Purple coneflower: same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'zones 3–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Bee balmMonarda didymazones 4–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Wild bergamotMonarda fistulosazones 3–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Russian sageSalvia yangii (syn. Perovskia atriplicifolia)zones 4–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants