Echinacea x hybrid 'Pretty Parasols' - CONEFLOWER 'PRETTY PARASOLS'

Charming large bi-color-flowered coneflower hybrid. Tall, upright with very sturdy stems. Floriferous and long blooming period, with good drought tolerance.

Flowers don't bloom in the same height, so the plant looks very natural (unlike most of the newest compact hybrids)

Drooping petals, whitish with magenta-pink halo and orange centers. Prolonged healthy leaves. Reminds of Echinacea pallida, but this coneflower gets bigger and stronger at the base.

Blooming Time: July till October
Size: clumps about 30-36" tall x  20" wide
USDA Zones: 4 to 9
Culture: full sun to filtered sun, adaptable to many soil types (including acidic, alkaline or clayish)

Moisture Needs: medium (average) to medium-dry or drier, tolerates poor soils.
Origin: Garden origin hybrid discovered by famous plant person Jan Spruyt from Belgium. Chance seedling was discovered in the coneflower field in 2013 (Buggenhout, Belgium). Originally the plants was named ‘JS Engeltje’ (with Jan Spruyt initials), later changed to 'Pretty Parasols'. Parentage of this plant is unknown. But it probably carries genes of Echinacea pallida - due to the more narrow leaves, drooping petals, longevity and drought tolerance. In Belgian conditions (milder temperate climate) was proven with high endurance to wind, cold, heat and sun. We dodn't trial this plant here yet, but we believe it is a good plant even in Midwestern conditions.

'Pretty Parasols' can remind of other cultivars  - ‘Fountain Pink Eye’ and ‘Pink Tip’.

'Pretty Parasols' was patented in 2020 under PP31675 (unlicensed propagation is prohibited). Plants are propagated vegetatively from tissue culture.

Deer/Rabbit Resistant: yes / yes
Attracts Butterflies or Pollinators: yes / yes
Attracts Hummingbirds: yes
Plant Combinations: Good with Achillea, Agastache, Amsonia, summer blooming Allium, Asclepias tuberosa, Aster, Baptisia, Calamintha, Coreopsis, other Echinacea, Gaura, Hemerocallis, Iris x barbata (I. x gemanica), Knautia, Liatris, Monarda, Nepeta, Oenothera, Penstemons, Platycodon (taller ones), Rudbeckia, Salvia nemorosa hybrids, tall Sedum, Solidago, Stachys, Vernonia lettermannii, taller Veronica, Yucca, and grasses like Bouteloa, Muhlenbergia, Sporobolus, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum or Panicum.

Pot Size: square 3.5" x 4" deep perennial pot
Picture Copyright: Concept Plants