I've had mine for years--original plants.

Nice laceyvail! which Echinacea do you have? If I may ask?

Cultivars of Echinacea purpurea with white, pink or purple flowers tend to be relatively long lived. The more colorful and very popular echinacea hybrids in red, peach, orange and yellows tend not to be.

Does that help?

I'm planted about 10 echinacea 3 and 4 years ago and don't have one original plant. This wasn't because they didn't return but because I had to rip them out last year due to Aster Yellows disease. Planted 7 last year and had to rip one out this year because of it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that other one don't become infected. I know what you mean by putting so much into it. Keep a watchful eye over them and if you see something that looks abnormal don't just let it go like I did ask someone here. I thought the strange bloom on one of mine was nothing until they all ended up with it.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) Yes that does help thank you. Geez though, I love some yellow ones! And relatively long lived means about how long?

Thanks for your advice @beesandblues88_z7a. I will watch carefully!

If you can find E. paradoxa, you should be able to grow some longer living yellows :-) It is the hybrids that have a pretty short garden life.

I did not know about the E. paradoxa. I am looking it up. Thanks!

A few friends have had there's for I would guess at least 8 years since iv known them . All deep pinks and seem to be a hybrid.

My experience here in MN is the yellow hybrids are the first to go so I don't plant them anymore. The reds/oranges seem to do okay, maybe up to 5 years. Purples and white seem to last the longest. However, they don't seed themselves 100% true. For example, the bed I planted all Pow Wow White in is now mostly purple and taller. Same with Pow Wow Wild Berry is taller and not the same shade of purple anymore.

Thank you everyone!! I will just go for it and hope for the best. I have already bought some yellow ones and have three more on order...just have to enjoy the yellow ones as long as they last. Hoping its more than one season. I have some questions about care and propagation...will start another thread.

I use to be a crazy echinacea person... i use to have a lot more... but... all the above posts are true. I have plenty of paradoxa, pallida, white pallida, and other species. They still around for years and years and you can then collect and set seed... or just let mother nature do it for you. For the other colored varieties... you can always get the cheyenne spirit line of seed to get your colors. The plants seem to hold on quiet well compared to the earlier generations of colorful echinacea that were only propagated via tissue cultures.

It's weird though, I've seen some of the earlier tall orange varieties... that haven't been sold for many years... being grown in someones hell strip for 6+ years now... and they don't appear to be "gardeners" by any means based on the overall yard. So maybe some poor care does them good!

beesandblues88 --- as for aster's yellows. There is a much more common issue on echinacea of mites that causes the distorted cones. This doesn't require you to destroy the plant to fix the issue. Were you plants growing out green petals? or producing mini bloom stalks from the cone head?

Thank you @Nevermore44 - 6a! I see cheyenne spirit being sold at several places locally. So in this variety individual plants develop a single color? I thought several different colors appear on the same plant? I will check it out and see if I can find some in bloom. So you find this cultivar is relatively stable?

It was the first line that was made where the variable colors came through consistently via seed. The plants themselves are of individual color, but they many times have several different colors in one pot. For longevity.... i've had a few for 3+ years. But again... sometimes you just get bum plants.

Also.... from my experience.... any of the newer echinacea that I've planted in late summer into fall (bargin bin sales) don't seem to come back at all or stronger the following spring. VS one's i've bought in the spring who get a full season of growth in... come back great.

@Nevermore44 - 6a well wow!! I am just about to plant...within a couple of weeks. Echinacea only showed up not too long ago locally. I wonder if having a tap root has something to do with it. This is very good to know. My fate is somewhat sealed at the moment because I can only plant in July. :(

Echinacea root in very fast so as long as you are around to water no problem planting in July and they will have plenty of time to establish and bulk up before winter. My tip for fall planting Echis is don't buy a blooming plant. Buy a bulky green plant. If it's runty pass especially if it's blooming.