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Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’ ™ PPAF promises to be one of the hottest new perennials to hit the gardening scene this year. This prolific flowering new coneflower — with fragrant, bright, harvest moon colored flowers and a golden-orange, central cone — combines the amazing growing qualities of the Big Sky™ series plus an exciting, new, color. And it's all wrapped up into a vigorous, compact growing perennial with a nice, bushy habit and loads of 4" wide, totally awesome flowers.
This exciting new selection is the breeder's (Richard Saul) favorite. He says that of the varieties within the Big Sky™ series that he has released so far, this is his favorite. He enthusiastically tells me that "it is tremendous", "it is tough", "blooms like crazy and has fantastic color", which he describes as "the color of a squash bloom."
I like the way the broad petals overlap and flare out around the bold, central cone to display the big, full, sturdy flowers. I also admire how they stand out and look so dramatic against the green foliage, changing shape as they mature. The cone expands to show off its textural charm. And the petals bend and turn downward to create a pleasing, spherical form. This changing appearance adds a lot to the appeal. It gives a sense of enhanced presence and "fullness". With the succession of buds, opening at different stages during the flowering periods, these different flower shapes combine to provide a good deal to the overall attraction of this outstanding new variety.
Growing to about 2' to 2½' tall, it is a marvelous size for all sorts of places in the garden. In smaller sites, it makes a lovely single specimen. In larger spaces it can be planted with great effect in massed displays. It will make a striking addition to perennial beds or mixed borders. It is such a handsome and accommodating plant that the possibilities are almost endless. I can see it used in raised beds and rockeries, sloping banks, and prominent front, rear, and side gardens. Since it is a hybrid, derived from native species, it could also be used in wildflower meadows and natural style gardens.
When selecting a planting site, try to find a prominent location — a place that is within full view of windows, doorways or seating areas. In addition to the outstanding color, the nectar-rich heads are magnets for butterflies. And the sweet fragrance is such a joy to experience on a warm summer's day.
Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’ ™ is great for cutting and bringing indoors. If they are harvested in the early morning, or late in the evening, and conditioned by placing the stems immediately in deep cold water, they will usually last seven to ten days. They make impressive arrangements and are marvelous for brightening up many places within the home.
Imagine how just a few stems will add a glowing welcome to visitors in entrance ways and foyers, or a cozy ambience to living rooms, family rooms, window sills and mantelpieces. The stout stems are easy to arrange. Even just a few, placed in a vase of water, will give a rich warming effect. And because each plant produces so many flowering stems, you will never miss a few snipped fresh from the garden.
Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’™ is adaptable, accommodating and easy to grow. All you need is a sunny site, well-drained soil, and a little basic information. Just follow the instructions on the tags and on the How to Grow Coneflowers part of our website and you can't go wrong. It is hardy to Zone 5 and, once your new plants are well-rooted and established in their new positions, they are easy to maintain and remarkably tolerant of drought, summer heat, and humidity.
They commence flowering around early summer. If the spent flower heads are removed, they will keep flowering through the rest of the summer and continue well into the autumn.
Towards the end of the summer, think about leaving a few fading heads for small birds to peck. The seed heads provide a valuable source of food and it is also fun to watch the activity.
Thanks to breeders like Richard Saul (Itsaul Plants), coneflowers have changed a great deal in the last few years. This plantsman "extraordinaire" has a rare blend of knowledge, experience, vision and patience. This exceptional selection is not only the latest one to reach us from this doyen of modern perennial breeders, it's also his personal favorite!
Like the other hybrids within this exciting series, it inherits the showy bloom qualities, free flowering ability, rugged reliability, and general robustness of our native Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). It combines these traits with the color, hardiness, tough resilience and downright, "tough as nails" attributes of another native yellow coneflower (Echinacea paradoxa) that inhabits the open, unforgiving, dry prairie and Ozark mountain landscapes of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.
Taking and merging the best garden merits of each parent is what Richard has managed to do. In this variety, he has superbly combined them to bring us a top notch performing variety that is compact and sturdy. With flowers over a long unrelenting period, and masses and masses of blooms that won't wilt or fade in the summer heat, and the warming, cheery hues of a harvest moon each and every day – Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’™ shines on all summer long.
Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’™ (Matthew Saul) PPAF is an exciting new introduction that we are pleased to release this year for the very first time. Supplies are limited, so to ensure you get your plants, please stop in and see us at your soonest convenience. Come see why Echinacea ‘Harvest Moon’™, and the other Garden Splendor® plants, are Plants worth Remembering™.
We have every confidence that it will prove to become one of the best new perennials to be introduced this year. Please stop by our garden center at your soonest opportunity and see for yourself why Echinacea ‘Sundown’PPAF and the other Garden Splendor® plants are "Plants worth Remembering"™.
Until next time, remember.... Enjoy your gardening. It's good for you!
