Panama Red Coneflower

Panama Red carries velvety deep red petals around a dark cone on a plant that stays around a foot tall. Echinacea Panama Red grows 12 to 14 inches tall and 14 to 16 inches wide in full sun to part sun, hardy from Zone 5 through Zone 9. The color does not fade as the flowers age, which is unusual in the red coneflowers. Bloom starts in early summer and reblooms into fall, and deadheading extends the run. At this size it works in a container, a rock garden, or the front row of a border where taller coneflowers would block what is behind them. Leave the last seedheads standing at the end of the season for goldfinches. Coneflowers take drought, heat, humidity, and poor soil once established, and they want well-drained ground. Winter wet is the usual cause of failure, so avoid low spots that stay saturated. Deer generally leave them alone.