Echinacea Named Perennial Plant Of Year

With all the excitement about using echinacea to build up immunity against colds, it’s no wonder that echinacea has been chosen as the 1998 perennial plant of the year.

The plant is Echinacea purpurea “Magnus,” also known as purple coneflower. It is a bold, sun-loving plant with long midsummer blooms, and it is easy to grow. A native of the Midwestern plains, Echinacea purpurea has become a valued garden plant. Flowers are borne in heads set on stalks that grow up to 4 feet tall.

Echinacea purpurea “Magnus” came from Swedish nurseryman Magnus Nilsson, who bred the plants to produce flowers with strong carmine colors and wide, flat petal displays. The variety “Magnus” was named in his honor. He recently celebrated his 90th birthday and continues to make improvements on echinaceas.

In the landscape, Magnus purple coneflower is a good bet for native flower gardens. Magnus, along with other cultivars of the purple coneflower, will be available at nurseries and through perennial mail-order catalogs for spring planting.