White Swan Coneflower
A Summer-blooming Perennial with White Flowers
This native cultivar attracts butterflies, pollinators, and birds to the garden!
White Swan coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’) has big, bold, daisy-like white flowers with drooping petals surrounding a greenish-orange cone. This perennial is easy to grow in zones 3-9, and has a long season of bloom, flowering from June until September in most parts of the country. Butterflies, bees, and other pollinating insects flock to this plant and sip nectar from the cones. In autumn, the petals drop as the flowers fade, and the dried cones remain showy and provide food for finches and other birds.
How do I grow White Swan coneflower?
Coneflowers prefer moist, well-draining soil, yet this tough and dependable plant tolerates most soil types, including clay. Plants will become more tolerant of drought, heat and humidity once established (learn if you are experiencing drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor map). White Swan coneflower does best in full sun to partial shade - for best flowering, plant in full sun. Deer will occasionally browse echinacea, though according to Rutgers University’s “Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance“, it’s not a favorite.
Landscape design ideas for White Swan coneflower:
Use White Swan coneflower in a border or foundation planting, or plant in a container garden. White Swan Coneflowers are a great choice for cutting gardens - the cut flowers are beautiful and long lasting in a vase. Plant in large drifts in a butterfly or pollinator garden, or plant in mass in an open, sunny spot (space 18-24 inches apart). Combine with grasses for a naturalistic meadow planting, or plant in the partial shade of a woodland garden. White Swan coneflower looks particularly elegant next to silver-leaved plants, such as lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Helen von Stein’) and Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia).
If you are looking to cut down on the square footage of your lawn, create a garden bed in a sunny, open spot with drifts of White Swan coneflower, purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Caradonna Salvia (Salvia nemarosa ‘Caradonna’), ‘Autumn Joy’ stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’), Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivanti ‘Goldsturm’), and Maryland dwarf holly (Ilex opaca ‘Maryland Dwarf’). You will have four seasons of interest, attract birds, bees and butterflies, and have less lawn to mow and fertilize.
Other planting companions for White Swan coneflower are blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’), bee balm (Monarda species), giant hyssop (Agastache species), Switchgrass (Panicum species), and broomsedge (Andropogon species).
A mixed border of White Swan Coneflower, ‘Mystic Spires Blue’ salvia, grasses, and Limelight hydrangeas.
Common Name: White Swan coneflower
Latin Name: Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’
Zones: 3-9
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Size: 24-36 inches tall and wide
Flowers: White flowers in summer
Spacing: 18-24 inches apart
Wildlife value: Attracts birds, butterflies, and pollinating insects
A naturalistic planting of White Swan coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and Shenandoah Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’).