KY Garden Flowers - Echinacea to Euphorbia

*Echinacea*	*Eichhornia*	*Erianthus*	*Euphorbia*
*Echinops*	*Epimedium*	*Erigeron*

Echinacea - Purple Cone Flower

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
yellow, lavender, dark pink, white	18"- 36"	summer	few	border, cut flowers, wild flower gardens	seeds, division

Performance - Cone flowers are reliable perennials in Kentucky gardens. They have excellent summer performance and some are native to the state. They will grow in less fertile soils, need excellent drainage and tolerate our dry summers well. The purple cone flowers (E. purpurea) are most common; 'Magnus' was the 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year from the national Perennial Plant Association.

Comments - Plants may require 2 years to become established, especially when the seed is direct sown in the garden. The plants may self-sow and spread in the garden, but they are usually not invasive. Removal of old flowers promotes bloom production and prevents reseeding.

Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower - This plant blooms for an extended period in the garden. 'Bright Star' has brilliant rose flowers, and petals extend horizontally. 'Alba' or 'White Swan' has white flowers with bronzy orange, domed cones in the center. All are excellent cut flowers. ‘Bravado’, ‘Bright Star’, ‘Clio’, ‘Magnus’, ‘White Swan’.

Echinacea tennessensis - Purple Coneflower - This plant is on the endangered species list and is considered rare but seed is now available commercially. This is an excellent cone flower in Kentucky.


E. purpurea	E. purpurea ‘White Swan’	E. tennessensis

More information and photos in HortFacts 50.12 06 – Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans.

Echinops ritro - Globe Thistle

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
steel blue	24"- 45"	summer	few	border, cut, dried	seed, division

Performance - Globe thistle is a unique perennial that is generally reliable in Kentucky gardens. After bloom, the foliage begins to die back and new growth appears in the fall. No special soil conditions are required for globe thistle.

Comments - Large, spiny leaves resemble a thistle, but these plants are not invasive like thistle. Any unwanted seedlings can be easily pulled from the garden. The flowers can be dried.

Varieties – 'Taplow Blue', 'Taplow Purple', 'Veitch's Blue'

Eichhornia crassipes - Water Hyacinth

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
light lavender	6"- 15"	summer	few	water gardens	division

Performance - Water hyacinth is a tropical floating plant that is an easy to grow annual in Kentucky water gardens. The bases of the leaves are swollen and filled with Styrofoam-like cells that allow the plant to float. They spread relatively quickly, especially if fertilizer is available in the water garden. They will freeze with the first freeze in the fall.

Comments - Water hyacinth has a terrible reputation as a weed in the world's tropical rivers, but freezes easily in Kentucky, so it cannot be a problem in our waterways.

Epimedium x versicolor - Bicolor Barrenwort

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
yellow	12"- 18"	early summer	Few	ground cover	division, cuttings

Performance - Barrenwort is an uncommon but excellent long-term perennial ground cover for Kentucky landscapes. It grows in sun or shade, but does best with some shade. The foliage may produce striking fall color.

Erianthus ravennae - Ravenna Grass

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
brown	8 - 12 ft.	fall	few	background, specimen	division

Performance - Ravenna grass is a large, reliably perennial ornamental grass used in Kentucky landscapes. Ravenna grass should be planted in full sun in most landscape soils. If you start with a small plant, be sure to give this grass plenty of room, because it will out-compete most other landscape plants. Cut back the flowers and foliage in early spring, so the plant will develop normally. It is best to transplant ornamental grasses in the spring, rather than fall.

Erigeron ‘Stallone’

Erigeron speciosus - Fleabane

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
violet blue with yellow center	18"- 24"	midsummer	downy mildew, powdery mildew, aphids	cut flowers, rock gardens	division, cuttings and seed

Performance - Fleabanes are a reliable perennial in Kentucky gardens. Good drainage is essential and plants grow well in sandy soils in full sun.

Comments - Pinch spent flowers to promote more blooms. Division should be done every 2-3 years to promote growth.

Varieties - 'Azure Beauty', 'Darkest of All', 'Loveliness', 'Sincerity'.

Euphorbia - Spurge

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
yellow	6"- 24"	spring, summer	blight	poor soil sites, edging, border	division

Performance - Spurges are unique plants that are generally reliable perennials in Kentucky gardens. They are quite drought and heat tolerant and generally prefer poorer garden soils.

Comments - All spurges have a white, milky sap that irritates the skin, possibly severely. Gloves should be worn as a precaution. The flowers are born in a unique inflorescence (cyathium) terminally on the stem.

Euphorbia cyparissias - Cypress Spurge - Cypress spurge can become invasive if grown in fertile moist soil and if not divided annually. It grows best in areas where few perennials will grow. The yellow flowers become red in the fall.

Euphorbia epithymoides - Spurge - Prefers a poor, dry soil. Foliage turns crimson-red in the fall. This plant forms a brilliant yellow mound in early spring. 'Polychroma'

Euphorbia myrsinites - Myrtle Euphorbia, Donkeytail Spurge - This plant is grown for the trailing effect of the gray-green foliage which is practically evergreen.

Euphorbia polychroma- Cushion Euphorpia, Cushion Spurge - Cushion spurge grows best in full sun and well drained soil. It is a long lived plant and does not like frequent division. It is best to divide in the spring with care being taken to avoid damaging the roots.

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