PlantFiles: Coneflower
Echinacea 'Evan Saul'

Yet another disappointing coneflower. Fades to a really ugly shade of salmon. moving them to the back of my yard where no body can see them.

Planted this in spring, had one flower then it died. The flower didn't even look like the picture, which showed a orangey,red full happy flower.

I bought this last year from a local Home Depot. It had several blooms already on it, and after planting, it did really well - lots of new growth and blooms. This spring (zone 6a), it really took off! It is about 4 feet high, and does lean a bit, so I've had to stake it. But the bloom color is gorgeous, and they do start out quilled, like others have complained, but they straighten out after awhile. Also, the blooms have lasted quite a long period of time for me, maybe about two weeks, and even then, they die off, and I have tons more coming in! So pretty, I love it!

It seems to me as if there is more than one strain of this plant in production now. Since this spring I have purchased six plants of Sundown from three different sources. Initially just two for myself and then other family members wanted some so I tracked them down. Four of these plants are great! The color holds well, the petals completely unfurl, and the fragrance is great. The other two start out the same, but as others have said, the color fades and the petals don't completely unfurl. Anyhow.... I think that if a person can find a strong strain of the plant that they'll be really happy with it. The four strong ones that I have are absolutely wonderful!!

Most Echie purists probably don't like this plant, but it makes one of the lovliest spots in my garden. It puts out an incredible amount of blooms week after week. Some of them open quilled, but eventually unfurl. I love the color changes on the blossums. Even those that take on a purplish appearence, still retain enough orange to give an overall coral color. The flowers paint a lovely backdrop for my daylilies.

VERY negative. I can't say anything negative enough to describe my disappointment with this mutant. It looks like something that grew next to Chernobyl.

Quilled petals randomly appear and the blooms fade so quickly that these are not what they were promised to be.

Last year I picked this up mid-summer and it did 'ok'. The leaves looked almost burnt like they had way too much sun and the flower stems kept rotting and falling off. However, it came back WONDERFULLY this year and just came into full bloom! The flowers are lightly scented and a very vivid orange colour that fades to pink. I love it and it's had none of the problems it had last year! So if for some reason yours isn't doing/looking very well give it another chance before you toss it.

My sister "collects" Coneflowers, so I have kind of tagged along, though I am not impressed with all of the various hybrids. BUT, I do have to say that I like my "Sundown." The color has not faded out as much as some of the others do. And it tends to retain its shape and appearance quite a bit longer too, with no droopy petals. I am very pleased with this one. I also have mine in a spot where it gets a good bit of sun from morning through early afternoon, and then gets shade for the hottest part of the day. Maybe that makes the difference.

I ordered this plant and was told "Regretfully, these plants have not met our quality control specifications. Rather than delaying your shipment any longer, we have cancelled these plants off your order." Sounds like they saved me an eyesore......

I love this flower! I have found that the flowers keep their color much longer if the plant is in morning sun with some afternoon shade, they wont fade so quickly.
Kathy

I love this plant. The unusual color is wonderful. If you are a gardener who doesn't get too uptight about "unfurled petals" and whatever else the negative reports were, you will find this plant definitely worthwhile. The positives far outweigh the negatives in my opinion. The color is gorgeous and the flowers quite beautiful.

I'm surprised the negative comments were given a 'neutral.' This plant is a dud!!! I've heard the major nurseries are giving people their money back for this inferior hybrid. Mine is a mess. Ugly unfurled petals, unopened flowers, short and stunted. I give this plant TWO HUGE THUMBS DOWN. BTW - I have E. Sunset and it is fabulous!

I think this cultivar of the Big Sky cones to be very beautiful. I just planted one about two months ago, and I have tons of blooms. The petals are an eye-catching rose color near the brown cone and they fade into a deep orange. Gorgeous. I just saw this cultivar at Longwood Gardens, PA last weekend, and it is beautiful in its maturity. I've noted some pictures with petals folded back, but I have not seen this in my own plant. The only problem encountered is that I'm not the only one that finds the plant appealing. Bunnies do too. They have nibbled off a lot of the tender new foliage at the base. Still the plant is strong and has found a new bunny-free location in the front of the house. I can't wait to see it next year...bigger and better. As of now, I would definitely recommend this cultivar.

The color on my plant is very bright and even. Planted in mostly sun, inground. Purchased locally.

We found this cultivar disappointing. The colors were faded and in no way matched the catalog pictures.

For info only:

Developed by Itsaul Plants of Georgia, the Big Sky™ series of Echinaceas are crosses of E. purpurea -- the traditional Purple Coneflower -- and E. paradoxa. They are heavy-blooming, unusually long-lasting, and sport a range of brand-new colors for the family.

I am not overly enthused with this plant, but save negative ratings for plants that totally fail. Yes it did have some of the rolled petals and the orange color quickly fades to purple. The leaves on mine and others I saw looked wrong for the second half of the season.

While the description says orange, the blooms on mine are a deep russet color and beautiful. Everyone that sees it comments on the unusual color.

The picture on the info card showed a brighter orange-red. I thought I was buying E. "Sunset", but when I got home, noticed that in small letters it said "Evan Saul" underneath. I wasn't thrilled with the color, since I was wanting something brighter, and was considering ripping it out, but it has grown so much and has continually bloomed, that I've decided to keep it. It may not be the most beautiful echinacea, but it is one of the best bloomers!

I had the same impressions and thoughts on this one too. I bought at a local nursery so it was a decent size starter plant. As it now about tripled in size & the flowers are looking much nicer though still mix of orange & pink, which is what I read in the plant description, but getting more of the flatter petals. I have it planted with Sweet Dreams Coreopis and it is beautiful!

I have a similar experience to both previous posters.

Just a few weeks after planting in spring, the tiny thing produced a bud, which took the longest time to flower.

The flower is similar to the way scutler describes. The petals never unfurled, and the flower is pink. I was a little annoyed with this ugly thing. But maybe after the plant matures, the problem will fix itself.

While I do like the plant, I am noticing unexpected variation in petals (please see photo). Some are "normal", flat, open completely, and are deep coral-orange. Others are "rolled" or tubular with the coral portion sealed inside and what would normally be the underside of the petal exposed; these are more pink. Both types of petals appear on the same flower. I have not seen this in any official photos of the plant and am eager to see photos from other DGers.

I found one of these at a nursery last weekend and planted it. This morning I noticed that the plant has put out a bud already, even though it's only about six inches tall.

If it actually blooms, I'll put up a photo.