Artisan® Soft Orange Coneflower

Artisan Soft Orange opens deep orange and lightens as the flowers age, so a plant in bloom carries several tones at once. Echinacea 'PAS1308374', sold as Artisan Soft Orange, grows 16 to 28 inches tall and 10 to 24 inches wide in full sun to part sun, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9. Bloom starts early, from midsummer into early fall, on a well-branched plant with a high bud count. The flowers are large and lightly scented, and they cut well. It flowers the first season after planting, and the foliage stays dense to the ground rather than going bare at the base. 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.