It may be difficult to find attractive orange summer flowering perennials for the summertime garden, but the ‘Julia’ Coneflower answers the call with a gorgeous rich orange flower. It is a long-blooming plant from early to late summer.
This is a compact plant for a sunny garden growing around 15” – 18” in height, and 12” – 24” in width. Its spice orange-colored flowers will attract butterflies, bees, and song birds, the latter in winter, for the seeds produced by the flowers.
Julia is hardy in zones 4 – 8. It is an easy-care perennial that is pest and disease resistant, and, deer resistant to boot.
‘Julia’ Coneflower’s botanical name is Echinacea ‘Julia’. It does well in dry or moist well-drained soil, and a wide range of soil types including clay. Being a tough little plant, it tolerates heat, drought, and humidity.
Its sturdy stems support the abundance of blooms through the growing season. Julia’s flowers are good as cut flowers in either fresh or dried arrangements. Don’t forget to leave some of the flowers to dry on the plant as a winter food supply for the birds.
We’re into the autumn season with all its many shades of orange. Wouldn’t you agree that an arrangement of dried Julia coneflowers would be perfect for a centerpiece on the fall dinner table?