Tennessee coneflower

Questions about tennessee coneflower

Does tennessee coneflower need sun or shade?

Tennessee coneflower grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).

It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.

What zones does tennessee coneflower grow in?

USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).

Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does tennessee coneflower flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers mid June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should tennessee coneflower be planted?

16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many tennessee coneflower plants do I need?

At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

• 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
• 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
• 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.

In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.

Is tennessee coneflower poisonous to dogs and cats?

No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.

"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.

Do deer eat tennessee coneflower?

Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.

What flowers after tennessee coneflower?

Tennessee coneflower is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

• Prairie dropseed: from mid August to mid September, 2½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
• Aromatic aster 'October Skies': from mid September to late October, 20 in tall (a recorded partner).
• Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.

What does tennessee coneflower look like in winter?

Tennessee coneflower dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.

Is tennessee coneflower good for bees and butterflies?

Tennessee coneflower is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.

It is a host plant: the caterpillars of wavy-lined emerald feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.

It is native to the United States.