'Mellow Yellows' Coneflower Seeds

It's like getting a mix on every plant. Mellow Yellows is a fantastic new coneflower (echinacea) that blooms the first year from seed, then just gets better and better.

Reaching just under 3 feet tall and only about 15 inches wide, this plant is nicely branched and very free flowering. The blooms range from rich gold to yellow, primrose, and even cream. Every time you look, there's an interesting play of colors going on with these long-lasting daisies.

And Mellow Yellows is compact enough for containers, giving you another option if you are short on sunny garden space or want to bring the flower garden to nose-level on the patio, deck, or balcony. It usually begins blooming about midsummer (the first year may be later) and continues into fall. Be sure to let the final blooms dry out on the plant, so that songbirds can come feast on those seed-filled cones.

Mellow Yellows attracts honeybees and butterflies into the garden, and is valuable source of nectar for pollinators. As a selection of the native American species, it is naturally disease and pest resistant. And it makes itself at home in less-than perfect conditions, including heat, humidity, drought, and poor soil. The older it gets, the better it gets.

For first-year blooms, sow the seeds right after you receive them, especially if you live in a short-season climate. (Before the end of January is ideal.) Place them on top of damp, but not wet, soil. (Your Bio Dome offers the ideal medium; just place the seed on top of the bio sponge, next to the hole. If it accidentally drops into the hole, no problem—it will grow from there too.) Germinate at about 65 to 70°F, then grown on (after they have sprouted) at 55 to 65°F. When they have 2 sets of true leaves and the garden soil is warm enough to work with, they are ready to transplant into the sunny garden.

We recommend this new echinacea very highly. The range of colors is beautiful, the growth is quick and strong, and the staying power is unbeatable. Add Mellow Yellows to your "must try" list this season.