Prairie Works

An interesting article appeared in the August 26 edition of the Chicago Tribune. The gardening section had an article about the Coneflower species and the hybridization that has been done to these popular flowers. Purple Coneflower along with Black-Eyed Susan are the most recognizable and widely used native plants today. The article states that even though the Echinacea species is indeed a native species to the Midwest, it abandoned its native roots a long time ago.

Today we most commonly see cultivars such as Echinacea ‘Sunrise,’ ‘White Swan,’ ‘White Lustre,’ ‘Magnus’ and so on. These varities are hybridized versions of our pioneer prairie plant but are assumed native either due to improper marketing by the nursery trade or because the medicinal uses of Echinacea are widely known and associated with Native Americans. In fact, any “variety” or “cultivar” plant is not a native and the native Echinacea of Illinois would most likely be Echinacea pallida - Pale Purple Coneflower. It is found at select midwestern nurseries that specialize in native plants where they strive to keep native gene pools intact. Never found at the local nurseries perrennial section.

The Tribune article entitled “A Better Coneflower?” highlighted the growing argument between those hybridizers and native plant purists. As the popularity of Echinacea varieties has grown, so has the argument. This maybe an argument that will grow alongside our coneflowers (whichever ones it may be) for a long time. A Wilmette, IL resident who has gotten away from from using cultivars summed it up by saying “If you plant something that isn’t native” she says “It may be pretty but its not as beneficial as it could be.” 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/home/chi-0826echinacea_aug26,0,162126.story The Chicago Tribune article

Contact Cory @ Prairie Works if you would like true native Pale Purple Coneflowers - 815.751.7400