Echinacea Sombrero® Salsa Red

The Sombrero® series of echinacea has gotten a lot of praise, every bit of it well deserved. These plants are improved in so many ways:

•Much greater cold hardiness
•Longer season of flowering
•More flowers per plant
•Compact, dense habit

Salsa Red is a brilliant scarlet-flowered member of the series, a mini stoplight of bold color that you will enjoy as much in the vase as you do in the border. Just 24 inches high and not quite as wide, this little powerhouse begins flowering with the first breath of summer heat and continues until the chill of fall. Cut the stems or deadhead the spent blooms and you will encourage even more buds to set.

This echinacea is just right for patio containers, where it attracts attention from guests and may lure a butterfly or two over from the garden. Like all coneflower varieties, it loves sun and heat, doesn't mind humidity or less-than-perfect soil, and is generally ignored by deer. A selection of a native American wildflower, it is free of pests and diseases, and does a good job bringing pollinators into the garden. Even after the blooms are gone and the central cones have dried out, small birds such as goldfinches will fly in to feast on its seeds.

We highly recommend Salsa Red for your garden and flowerpots. Very low maintenance and long-lived, it has condensed the best of echinacea growing into one perfect little plant.