Color Me Coneflower: 15 Eye-Catching Echinacea Types to Try
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned gardener, these echinacea varieties are sure to impress.
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As a landscape designer, I’ve seen firsthand how echinacea (also called coneflower) can transform a garden - not just with its bold color and pollinator appeal, but also with the unique, architectural flower form it brings to a planting design.
In recent years, however, the number of new echinacea varieties flooding garden centers has exploded!!! What used to be a simple choice between purple and white now includes fiery oranges, soft pastels, puffy double flowers, and compact forms that barely reach your knee. While exciting, this abundance can be overwhelming, especially when you're standing in the perennial aisle trying to make the best choice for your space.
Horticulturalists have taken the straight species of purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, and crossed it with other plants to develop dozens of unique new echinacea types. These newer types of echinacea vary in bloom shape, height, color palette, and even blooming duration. This opens up wonderful possibilities in landscape design, from bold statement borders to low, meadow-style plantings that feel both wild and intentional.
This article is designed to cut through the noise and help you hone in on the echinacea types that will work best for your aesthetic and gardening goals. We'll take a look at 15 standout selections, with a designer’s eye on form, function, and overall garden harmony. Whether you’re working with a small urban plot or designing a sweeping prairie-inspired border, there’s an echinacea for that, and we’ll help you find it!
One note before we begin: if supporting pollinators and birds is a priority in your garden, it’s best to avoid the double-flowered or pompom-style echinacea types. While visually striking, their dense petals often block pollinators from reaching the nectar, and birds struggle to access the seed heads later in the season.
Instead, opt for single-flowered echinacea varieties, which provide far greater ecological value while still offering plenty of visual appeal. Now, before we jump into the top picks, let’s cover a few echinacea care basics and some design tips to get the most out of these garden gems!
Bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects prefer single-flowered echinacea types. Image credit mr_coffee via Canva.com.
Echinacea Care Basics & Design Tips
Echinacea is an excellent perennial for both low-maintenance and high-impact garden spaces. Most echinacea types thrive in full sun, are drought-tolerant once established, and are rarely bothered by deer or rabbits, traits that make them especially useful in today’s modern garden designs. They grow well in Zones 4–9, with some types hardy even to Zone 3. If you don’t know your gardening zone, find it on the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Echinacea grows best in full sun with well-draining soil. These plants will tolerate part shade, but most echinacea varieties need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight to bloom heavily and look their best. Echinacea is adaptable and drought-tolerant once established, but will need regular watering during its first season to help with establishment. For best results, water consistently but allow the soil to dry out between waterings.
Avoid planting echinacea in poorly draining soils, which cause crown rot and shorten the life of your plants. And skip the compost and soil amendments, because overly fertile soils will lead to floppy stems.
Echinacea are naturally short-lived perennials; some echinacea types will self-seed and return, but many newer types of echinacea won’t, so plan accordingly when designing your garden.
From a design standpoint, I like to treat echinacea as both a visual anchor and a dynamic pollinator magnet. Compact varieties work well in the front of the border, or in small gardens, and even in container garden designs. The larger echinacea types shine in the middle of the border or when planted in mass.
The newer color introductions of corals, mangoes, and deep reds allows for endless palette play, but I always recommend repeating colors or forms throughout a space to keep things cohesive.
Lastly, don’t forget to leave those seed heads standing throughout fall and winter. Not only do they provide striking visual interest as the frost settles in, but they also offer a critical food source for songbirds like goldfinches.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at 15 favorite echinacea types that can elevate your garden, both in design and ecological value.
Echinacea serves as a visual anchor in the front of this garden border. Image credit: Martin Wahlbog via Canva.com.
1. PowWow® Wild Berry
(Echinacea purpurea 'Pas702917')
Size: 12-24 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Flowers abundantly and reliably
PowWow® Wild Berry echinacea. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
I often reach for PowWow® Wild Berry when I want a reliably stunning and high-performing perennial. Among the many types of echinacea available, this award-winning cultivar stands out - and has for years -for its consistent vigor and visual impact. It’s a designer favorite thanks to its stocky, upright habit and profusion of blooms that span from early to late summer. The deep purple to magenta flowers offer a bold splash of color that anchors a perennial bed beautifully.
I love using PowWow® Wild Berry alongside Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), which creates a soft, silvery textural contrast. For a more vibrant combination, I’ll pair it with bright orange blooms like Darling Clementine tickseed (Coreopsis ‘Darling Clementine’) to draw attention to the warm, coppery orange hues in PowWow® Wild Berry’s central cone. This echinacea type is a go-to that earns its place in the landscape time and time again.
👉 * Buy PowWow Wild Berry Echinacea from Fast Growing Trees *
👉 * Buy Russian Sage from Fast Growing Trees *
2. Color Coded® Orange You Awesome
(Echinacea ‘Orange You Awesome’)
Size: 18-22 inches high and 16-20 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Bold, oversized blooms on a tidy, compact form
Color Coded® Orange You Awesome Echinacea. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
I’m always on the lookout for standout echinacea varieties that bring bold color to a planting scheme. Orange You Awesome lives up to its name with stunning tangerine-orange blooms kissed with reddish pink near the centers, creating a warm, fiery glow in the garden. It has very large, fragrant flowers that emerge in mid to late summer, providing a reliable burst of color just when many other perennials begin to fade. The compact size of this variety makes it especially useful for smaller yards, container plantings, or the front of garden borders where space is limited but impact is a must.
Pair Orange You Awesome with other summer garden standouts to create a layered, dynamic display. Plant it in front of tall, spiky bloomers like cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) for a bold, fiery contrast, or combine it with Kobold blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’) to highlight the vibrant hues that will catch the eye and energize the garden from mid- to late summer.
3. Double Coded® Everything’s Rosy
(Echinacea ‘Everything’s Rosy’)
Size: 20-24 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Double
Key Attribute: Dense, prolific double flowers
Double Coded® Everything’s Rosy Echinacea. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Among the many types of echinacea available, Everything’s Rosy stands out for its lavish, distinctive blooms. It features large, 4-inch double flowers, with rich rose colored fluffy centers surrounded by soft pink petals. Blooming from mid to late summer, it delivers a prolific floral display right when garden borders need a fresh pop of color. It has a low, wide, and well-branched form that makes it ideal for massing at the front of borders.
To enhance its rose-colored charm, pair Everything’s Rosy with the mid to late-summer blooming Rosie Posie anise hyssop (Agastache 'Rosie Posie’), and together they will create a vibrant, cohesive pink-purple palette that feels both playful and polished. For added contrast, plant this echinacea variety alongside Arkansas bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), whose fine-textured foliage and cooler tones offer a striking counterpoint to the bold, fluffy blooms.
4. Cheyenne Spirit
(Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’)
Size: 24-30 inches tall and 18-24 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Varied range of flower colors
Cheyenne Spirit Coneflower. Image courtesy of Bailey Nurseries.
I often look to bold, high-impact Echinacea types to bring long-lasting color and energy to sunny garden spaces, and Cheyenne Spirit delivers on all fronts! This unique variety offers a vibrant, unpredictable mix of flower colors in clear, saturated shades of gold, scarlet, orange, rose, cream, yellow, and purple - plant at least three plants together to enjoy the wide color range. It blooms from mid-summer to early fall and keeps the color going when many perennials start to fade.
Cheyenne Spirit is especially striking when massed in borders, island beds, or even along a sun-drenched driveway, where the full spectrum of colors can truly shine. Its versatility also makes it an excellent choice for stylized meadow-inspired plantings. Try pairing it with Shenandoah switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’) for a soft, textural contrast that highlights the bold form and radiant color of these coneflower blooms. Of all the echinacea types, Cheyenne Spirit brings the most dynamic energy to your garden landscape.
👉 * Buy Cheyenne Spirit Echinacea from Fast Growing Trees *
👉 * Buy Shenandoah Switchgrass from Fast Growing Trees *
5. Artisan™ Soft Orange
(Echinacea x hybrida 'PAS1308374')
Size: 16-28 inches high and 10-24 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Large, showy flower heads
Artisan™ Soft Orange Coneflower. Image courtesy of Bailey Nurseries.
I’m always looking for Echinacea varieties that bring lasting color and versatility to compact spaces, and Artisan™ Soft Orange does the trick. Its large, vibrant orange flowers feature prominent orangey-green cones and it flowers all summer long, making it a strong performer in both the landscape and the cutting garden. It has a more upright, narrow form, making it perfect for urban gardens, small-space borders, and small perennial beds.
Artisan™ Soft Orange also shines as a focal point in bold, color-driven plantings. Use it as part of a dramatic color palette, and combine with blue or purple-flowering companions like First Choice bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘First Choice’), Blue Hill salvia (Salvia nemerosa ‘Blauhügel’), or the Millennium ornamental onion (Allium ‘Millennium’). Combining these opposite colors creates a bold, dynamic garden display that draws in the eye and garners lots of attention!
6. Eye Catcher™ Canary Feathers
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Canary Feathers’)
Size: 18-20 inches high and 14-16 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Large flowers and a compact, well-branched plant form
Eye Catcher™ Canary Feathers Echinacea. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
Eye Catcher™ Canary Feathers features large, 5-inch golden yellow blooms with prominent yellowish-brown cones that pop beautifully against its dark green foliage. The compact, well-branched form makes it ideal for small yards, container plantings, and the front of borders, where it adds a burst of vibrant color from mid- to late summer without overwhelming the space.
Among the many echinacea types available, Canary Feathers stands out for its design flexibility. It pairs especially well with spiky blooms, creating a dynamic contrast in flower shape. For a striking complementary color scheme, plant it alongside deep purple or blue salvias like May Night (Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’) or Azure Snow (Color Spires® Salvia ‘Azure Snow). If you’d prefer a warmer color palette, mix it with the orange and red hues of Guava Lava hummingbird mint (Agastache ‘Guava Lava’). Whether you’re aiming for harmony or drama, this coneflower delivers!
7. Kim’s Knee High
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Knee High’)
Size: 12-24 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Shorter habit and long season of bloom
Kim’s Knee High Echinacea. Image courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company
I often recommend Kim’s Knee High echinacea for clients who love the wild beauty of native coneflowers but need a more compact option for smaller spaces. This standout among echinacea varieties mirrors the classic look of the species, with its drooping rosy-purple petals and bold, coppery-orange cones - but in a shorter, more manageable form. Blooming from early to late summer, it offers an extended season of interest that works beautifully in the front of a border or as part of a naturalized planting.
What makes Kim’s Knee High particularly useful in designs is its ability to bring that prairie-garden feel to compact spaces without overwhelming the layout. I love pairing it with grasses like Elijah Blue blue fescue (Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue’) or the short and dense Cape Breeze switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Cape Breeze’). These cool-toned, finely textured companions contrast nicely with the bold purple flower heads while reinforcing a low-maintenance, naturalistic aesthetic. It’s a great choice for gardeners who want the charm of native-inspired plantings in tight or urban gardens.
8. Summersong™ Firefinch™
Formerly known as Lakota™ Fire
(Echinacea Summersong™ ‘Firefinch’™)
Size: 12-16 inches high and 16-18 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Long season of bloom in a range of hues
Summersong™ Firefinch™ Echinacea. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
I’m always on the lookout for perennials that offer both bold color and extended bloom time, and SummerSong™ Firefinch™ checks every box. This short, showy cultivar delivers a remarkably long display, blooming from early summer straight through until early fall. Its flowers range in color from reddish-orange to pinkish-red, creating a dynamic, ever-changing color palette that attracts attention. The compact size makes Firefinch™ easy to work into a variety of designs, but it truly shines when planted in generous drifts.
In large sweeps, such as island beds or lawn replacement projects, Firefinch™ creates a vibrant tapestry of red, pink and orange hues. Because of its extended bloom period, you get months of continuous interest, especially when it's paired with late-season companions like Autumn Joy stonecrop (Sedum/Hylotelephium ‘Autumn Joy’) and Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) to carry the display into fall. Among the many echinacea types available, SummerSong™ Firefinch™ stands out as a powerhouse for long-lasting color and impact.
9. PowWow White
(Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow White’)
Size: 12-24 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Prolific, reliable bloomer
PowWow White Echinacea. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
PowWow White is a reliable, high-impact perennial that brings structure and brightness to the garden. This variety is an especially prolific bloomer and produces more flowers per plant than many other echinacea types. PowWow White is a great choice for sunny borders, pollinator gardens, the front of the house, or container plantings. Crisp white petals and warm golden-orange cones create a fresh, luminous display that lasts from early to late summer, providing months of interest.
PowWow White offers exceptional versatility in garden design. It pairs beautifully with its vibrant purple counterpart, PowWow Wild Berry (#1 on this list), for a bold color contrast. For a softer, more serene palette, try combining PowWow White with silver-leaved companions like Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) or mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) for a cooling, elegant composition that thrives in heat and sun.
👉 * Buy PowWow White Echinacea from Fast Growing Trees *
👉 * Buy Russian Sage from Fast Growing Trees *
10. Color Coded® Frankly Scarlet
(Echinacea x ‘Frankly Scarlet’)
Size: 26-28 inches high and 16-20 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Bold color
Color Coded® Frankly Scarlet Echinacea. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
If you are drawn towards making bold color statements in your garden, Color Coded® Frankly Scarlet delivers! Among the many types of Echinacea available, this variety stands out with its brilliant scarlet red blooms that gradually soften to a warm coral orange color as they age, creating dynamic visual interest from mid to late summer. Its upright, mid-sized habit makes it perfect for use in mid-border plantings or layered into cottage-style gardens where a rich pop of summer color is needed.
Frankly Scarlet is a natural partner for warm-toned perennials, like Firefly Peach Sky yarrow (Achillea ‘Firefly Peach Sky’) and Apricot Delight Yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Apricot Delight’). It also complements ornamental grasses especially well, and will bring out the red leaf tones in Prairie Winds® Cheyenne Sky switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Winds’). For an intense burst of summer color, this Echinacea type is a sure bet.
11. Butterfly™ Yellow Rainbow Marcella Echinacea
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Ech391’ Butterfly™ Yellow Rainbow Marcella)
Size: 15-18 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Interesting flowers and a smaller-sized plant
Butterfly™ Yellow Rainbow Marcella Echinacea. Image courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company.
Butterfly™ Yellow Rainbow Marcella is a charming, compact perennial that brings a unique touch to garden designs. Blooming from mid-summer to early fall, its petite flowers feature rich brown cones surrounded by lemon-yellow petals softly brushed with pink near the center. This creates a delicate, watercolor-like effect that brings subtle elegance to any landscape.
Its smaller size makes it ideal for garden beds, the front of borders, container arrangements, or in front of the house where detail and color can be appreciated up close. Try pairing it with PowWow Wild Berry Echinacea (#1 on this list), and let the rich purple blooms bring out the subtle pink of Yellow Rainbow Marcella’s petals. It also looks great when paired with pink-flowering tickseed cultivars like Nova® Sunstone (Coreopsis verticillata 'Nova® Sunstone') or Shades of Rose (Coreopsis 'Shades Of Rose').
12. Magnus
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’)
Size: 30-36 inches high and 18-24 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Vigorous and award-winning
Magnus Echinacea. Image courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company.
I often return to classic performers that have stood the test of time, and Magnus is one of the most dependable echinacea varieties available. A former Perennial Plant of the Year award winner, Magnus is prized for its tall, upright habit and commanding presence in the landscape (see a list of award winners on the Perennial Plant Association’s website). Reaching up to 4 feet in height and blooming from mid-summer until early fall, it’s an excellent choice for larger-scale designs that need a long season of color. It has vivid rosy-pink petals that are held flat and radiate outwards from the dark brown center cones, a slight difference from the typical drooping coneflower flower silhouette.
Magnus is especially effective when used in mass plantings, where its height and color makes a powerful visual impact. I love incorporating it into big backyards, pocket prairies, and pollinator-focused plantings, where its long bloom season supports both beauty and biodiversity. It also works well in meadow-style gardens, where it adds vertical interest and strong color contrast among grasses and other natives. Magnus remains a timeless choice for gardeners seeking height, color, and long-lasting performance.
👉 * Buy Magnus Echinacea from Fast Growing Trees *
13. Milkshake
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Milkshake’)
Size: 24-36 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Double
Key Attribute: Unique fluffy flower heads
Milkshake Echinacea. Image courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company.
Milkshake echinacea is one of the more distinctive echinacea types to incorporate into the garden for visual interest. It features fully double blooms with white pom-pom-like centers, surrounded by gently drooping white petals. This creates a unique, fluffy, layered texture that brings elegance and depth to the midsummer garden. While it doesn’t attract as many pollinators as single-flowered echinacea types, it has tons of visual impact and charm that continues through until early fall.
Pair Milkshake with other coneflower varieties like PowWow White or Canary Feathers to create a vibrant, multifaceted flower display with a range of flower shapes and colors. For a softer, more refined look, Milkshake is striking next to silver-leaved plants like catmint and lavender, where its white blooms play off the cool foliage tones. It also looks fantastic next to blue and deep purple flowers, like those of Beyond Midnight® Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Beyond Midnight’) or Blue Horizon Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum ‘Blue Horizon’).
14. Artisan™ Yellow Ombre
(Echinacea x 'PAS1303304')
Size: 24-36 inches high and 18-24 inches wide
Flower Form: Single
Key Attribute: Profusion of flowers
Artisan™ Yellow Ombre Echinacea. Image courtesy of Pan American Seed Co. via NGB.
Artisan Yellow Ombre is a particularly vibrant echinacea type, featuring intensely colored blooms in a glowing mix of golden yellows and bright oranges. It really does look like the flowers have been sprinkled with Cheeto dust 😂. Its prolific flowering and uniform, multi-branched growth habit makes this echinacea an excellent choice for bringing energy and brightness to garden beds and borders from midsummer through early fall.
Artisan Yellow Ombre thrives in mass plantings, where the vivid yellow and orange tones make a bold impact in large, expansive beds. It also shines in the middle to back of the border, and pairs well with saturated fuchsia, purple or blue flower colors. I especially love combining it with butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and Raspberry Wine bee balm (Monarda didyma ‘Raspberry Wine’) for a bright, native-inspired planting, or creating a textural contrast by pairing it with the wispy Blonde Ambition blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition’).
15. Butterfly Kisses
(Echinacea purpurea ‘Butterfly Kisses’)
Size: 12-18 inches high and wide
Flower Form: Double
Key Attribute: Small and charming
Butterfly Kisses Echinacea. Image courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company.
Butterfly Kisses is a petite echinacea variety, perfect for bringing long-lasting blooms to small spaces. This tidy cultivar stays just 12 to 18 inches tall and wide, making it ideal for containers, small front yards, or the front of the border. It blooms steadily all summer long, with fragrant, fully double flowers comprised of bright pink pompom centers surrounded by softer pink ray petals.
Due to its double-flowered form, Butterfly Kisses doesn’t offer much in the way of pollen, nectar, or seeds for wildlife, but its ornamental value is high. Pair it with pink or purple foliage plants like Dolce® Silver Gumdrop coral bells (Heuchera x ‘Silver Gumdrop’) or Midnight Masquerade beardtongue (Penstemon ‘Midnight Masquerade’) to bring out their purple leaf tones. Among all the different types of echinacea, Butterfly Kisses is a great option when space is limited but you still want lots of color and interest on a compact plant!