PlantFiles: Gray-headed Coneflower, Pinnate Prairie Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata

This plant DOES NOT like a lot of moisture. Started it from seed this year in a class at NCSU. The greenhouse workers flooded the flats continually which caused most plants to thrive but the Ratibidas have not done well at all. Moving them to a much drier place this week and hoping they will pull through.

Awesome, tough, drought tolerant prairie plant that thrives in clay soil!!! Vibrant yellow flowers bloom in the middle of the hot, dry, eastern Kansas summers, and survive our winters too. I love to see American Goldfinches stand so balanced and feed on the tops of them while the plants sway in the wind.

I have several of these that I planted a two summers ago. They need absolutely no maintenance (they're native here), they enjoy nearly full sun in my garden, and they're drought tolerant. They bloom consistently from mid-July through the end of August. I have some issues with the wind beating them up quite a bit, in a natural state they're buffered by the other plants in the field, which isn't the case as border plants in my perennial garden.

Grayhead prairie coneflower is a perennial plant 3 to 5 feet tall. It is characterized by a number of lanceolate, toothed leaves in a clump. Few to numerous flower stalks arise from the clump with few leaves along the stalk.

Grayhead prairie coneflower is found in well-drained soils from moist to dry. It prefers full sun but can tolerate partial shade. It can be found in prairies, woodland edges and savannas.

Pioneers used the dried seed heads like cedar chips to protect clothing.

I received this plant compliments of a bird. They grow wild in the prairies here and do not transplant well, but do grow readily from seed. It looks very nice in with yarrow and Sweet William. It does self-seed but not to the extent that it becomes a pest. It tolerates the extremes of our weather very well.

these are great plants! very low maintenence-I grew them for years in my garden in Indiana-the finches loved the dried seed heads, and I used to love watching them bob around on the dried stems working them for the seed-self sow, and the plants are fairly long lived as individuals as well-my best plants literally grew in gravel along the edge of a driveway where they sowed themselves-once that stand became established-they were so lovely and so tough! Even though they self sow I wouldnt characterize them as invasive at all-I never had any touble with them in that regard-great meadow plant. One thing I would say is that if you are the 'perfect well manicured' garden type-they are probably not your thing-they are rangey, gangley and full of character! they also attract butterflys, which is nice...