My absolute favorite is Pow Wow Wildberry.

My favorite is any echinacea that survives for more than a single season :-) That limits it to any of the E. purpurea cultivars only. None of the colorful hybrids survive very long in the PNW. They rarely return after the first year.

Hear hear 'gg'!

Speaking only from my experience of course....either they were 'wimpy' i.e. not hardy or got "Asters Yellow". (I havent had a coneflower in the garden in over a decade).

@mlobaito_nnyzn4 - Has Pow Wow Wildberry been perennial for you? Looks like you're in zone 4 New York? I had no idea there was a bubble of zone 4 in northern New York. I used to garden in zone 4 Minnesota.

Well Pam, I sure was hoping for you to say that at least some of the dozens of new non-pink Echinacea cultivars have turned out to be reliably perennial in the PNW!

Do you happen to know if Cheyenne Spirit produces viable seed? If the mother plant doesn't last very long, it would be nice if I could grow seedlings.

You can buy the seeds of this strain so I assume what the plants produce in the garden is also fully viable.

IME, while some of the hybrids will return if sited well and in a sunny, fast draining soil location, the majority give a very poor performance. I have not used them in a client design for years.

Yes all of mine have come back for 3 years now getting bigger and better every year. i have cheyenne

spirit, but it only seems to get one flower color an orange shade and a double scoop cranberry. the bees and butterflies love them all. I did have 2 that i bought that did not come back dark shadows wicked and double scoop mandarin. unless the one i think is cheyenne spirit is the double scoop that does not grow with the pom pom like it should.

pow wow wildberry

Cheyenne spirit

double scoop cranberry

Hmm, this makes me feel a little better. I have not had much luck with it but for some people around here it does very well. I bought a hybrid the other day , Vintage Ruby . It was so pretty, with several colors of blooms, some tawny reddish and some deeper red. I potted it up in a big pot. Don't have big expectations for it. Would like to try the purpurea again.

did anyone mention how important early planting is. ? In New England z 6a dont plant these in the fall and expect them to return in spring. i have not had good luck with any except purpurea, Magnus, & Pow Wow pink and white. i may have gotten 2 years out of Fragrant angel .

I have an affinity for the Green Twister variety. But it usually reverts after 2-3 years. The first time it happened I thought I was losing my mind as I didn’t think I had planted the ‘standard’ variety; now I know this is a thing.

I bought 2 new ones at last nights sale. Sunseeker Salmon and rainbow marcella. i had Green Twister in my cart but then i remembered what LaLennoxa said about it reverting so changed my mine. i also found my double scoop mandarin being smothered by the world dominating shasta daisies.

Sunseeker Salmon

rainbow macella

lost double scoop mandrin, moved to a safer spot.