I've wondered the same thing Elisabeth, so I'll be watching for some responses. I always feel guilty buying cultivars....but their beauty gets the best of me.

I don't know, since all I've got planted is the species.
So, I guess I'll order some of the new ones, just for y'all, you understand. They won't be feeding my addiction, just doing it for the good of butterfly enthusiasts! ;)
Sherry

That's very noble of you Sherry! I hope its not too painful for you. :) :)

LOL, Miss Sherry! I may have to join you in the halfway greenhouse for recovering plant addicts...
-Elisabeth

haha....."halfway greenhouse"........that's good! :)

I ordered three new ones from Plant Delights this year...I'll let you know how they perform.

Green Envy, Now Cheesier and Kate Saul are the ones I am trying.

Bob

I have White Swan, and a couple of the Big Sky series 'Sunrise' and 'Summer Sky'. They all seem to attract butterflies and especially bees at about the same rate as plain old Echinacea purpurea.

This year I'm starting several cultivars from seed, including 'Pow Wow Wild Berry', Primadonna White, and 'Bravado'. I can tell you the slugs already like the Pow Wow, they've eaten 2 of my 6 teeny seedlings! Those are expensive seeds too. We'll see how the butterflies like them!

Personally I would stay away from the double blooms, even though they are pretty. I can't see how the pollinators have easy access to the nectar and pollen with all those poofy petals.

I agree, terrene, the "poofy" ones don't look like they'd provide any nectar.
Well, I checked out Tomato Soup and several others on the internet, and the prices are too steep for me. I just can't see paying $15-$20 per echinacea plant - if I ordered two or three like I wanted to do, with the big shipping charges it'd be a lot of money for daisies! :)
There's a little local nursery, and she had some white ones called Amado echinacea. I bought one and planted it. Hers weren't in bloom, so I looked it up on the internet, and the pictures look great - a big 4" white flower with a green center, which I love. I'll see how it grows and how the butterflies like it.
When the expensive cultivars become more plentiful and they become available locally, I'll certainly get them. There are several that I'd love to have!
Sherry

Thanks everybody! I will bring this post up every once in a while this summer so we can see how the varieties do.
-Elisabeth

Even though it was a bit expensive, I bought a "Tiki Torch" echinacea the other day. It was a pretty healthy specimen.
I hope its like some of the more orange pics of it. I'll let you know.
Oh.....and at the same time I found the yellow echinacea paradoxa and bought it too. good thing money grows on trees!

I have several varieties of echinacea. Regular species, Twilight, Tiki Torch (yes, it is very orange), Harvest Moon, Sundown (has severe rust??? every season), Ruby Star, Magnus, White Swan, Alba, and Green Envy.

By far the most attractive to bees and butterflies is the regular species, purple coneflowers.

I will rate them according to my observations in my garden. From most attractive for butterflies to the least:
1. Species
2. White Swan
3. Magnus
4. Ruby Star
5. Harvest Moon, Sundown, Twilight, Tiki Torch, Green Envy--These five appear to be much less attractive, vigorous, and floriferous than the others. Not to mention, more expensive.

If I could go back in time, I would exclusively plant the species and White Swan coneflowers. They are resilient self-seeders (true to type) that the bees, butterflies, and finches love. For those that really want to save money, they can be started from seed as well.

Just my two cents. :)
Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

Question about the species. I love the ones that are truly a cone shape, with petals downward. This isn't "Magnus" is it? One nursery said it was, but its petals are more horizontal. What name on the label should I look for, for the original ones?
I guess it makes sense that the original stuff is the better stuff. To quote an old margarine commercial
"Its not nice to fool Mother Nature!" :)

I got my first coneflower as a division from my SIL. I have no idea where she got it, but it is the traditional purple color. I have since saved seeds and wintersown from that plant and now I have multiple self seedlings surrounding the original clumps and they're on their second year. I have probably 50+ plants that should bloom this year, and I got them all at nearly no cost. And the butterflies and birds are the beneficiaries. I love gardening!

Martha

Catherinet---You're right. The cone shaped ones are the Echinacea purpurea (species). Magnus does hold their petals straight out. It should be easy to find seeds for E. purpurea online, in the stores, or from those with spare seeds on the forum.

Thanks kr222. The ladies at the nursery told me that magnus was the cone shaped one. :(
Actually, I have the purpurea growing too, so I'll just get seeds from those.