Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea 'Balsomsed' SOMBRERO SALSA RED)
Stunning Echinacea purpurea 'Balsomsed' SOMBRERO SALSA RED Coneflower offers vibrant orange-red blooms and low maintenance for zones 3-8.
Scroll down to discover growing tips, care requirements, companion plants, and more
Complete Plant Information
Overview
The Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED, a brilliant cultivar of the classic Coneflower, brings intense, saturated color to the summer garden. This variety is celebrated for its compact, upright habit and sturdy stems, producing showy, single-whorled flowers in a dramatic orange-red hue reminiscent of salsa. It retains the toughness of its Purple Coneflower lineage, making it highly adaptable to various conditions.
As a low-maintenance herbaceous perennial, the SOMBRERO SALSA RED Coneflower thrives in full sun, drawing pollinators while offering excellent architectural structure. Its drought and heat tolerance make it an invaluable backbone plant for borders and naturalized areas throughout USDA Zones 3 through 8.
This specific cultivar offers excellent repeat bloom potential, ensuring vibrant color from early summer well into the season. Gardeners appreciate the rich contrast provided by the orange-red rays against the dark orange-brown center cone, enhancing any sunny landscape design.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Asteraceae
- Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 3-8
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 1.5-2 ft
- Spread: 1-1.5 ft
- Bloom Time: June to August
- Bloom Description: Orange-red rays with orange brown center cone
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Water Needs: Dry to medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
This Coneflower cultivar thrives best when planted in early spring or fall in a location receiving full sun, though it will tolerate part shade. It adapts easily to average, dry to medium soils, provided they offer adequate drainage. Avoid overly rich or consistently wet soil, as this can reduce vigor and increase susceptibility to potential issues.
Maintenance for Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED is thankfully low. This adaptable plant tolerates humidity, heat, and poor soil conditions once established. While plants often rebloom without intervention, prompt removal of spent flowers generally improves the overall appearance until late fall.
Clumps should be divided every four years if overcrowding occurs to maintain vigor and flowering density. If you desire natural reseeding for a more informal look, leave some of the blackened seed heads standing into the winter, which also offers late-season texture and bird interest.
This robust variety is noted for its excellent tolerance to difficult conditions, thriving where many other border plants might falter. Its overall robustness makes it a superb choice for busy gardeners or low-input landscape designs.
Landscape Uses
The striking orange-red blooms of Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED make it an excellent specimen for massing in the perennial border. Its compact, upright nature, reaching only 1.5 to 2 feet tall, ensures it works well in the middle ground or front of large beds without obscuring shorter companions. Consider planting en masse alongside shorter yellow cultivars or Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans) for a dynamic, hot-colored tapestry.
It performs beautifully in meadow plantings or native gardens where low water needs are important. Because of its drought tolerance, place this Coneflower in mixed borders featuring other sun-lovers like ornamental grasses, Sedum, or Salvia. Its stiff stems and persistent cones also provide valuable winter structure if deadheading is skipped in the fall.
This plant is highly valued for long-lasting performance, transitioning seamlessly from a vibrant summer feature to a winter textural element visited by goldfinches feasting on the seeds held in the cones.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Noteworthy Characteristics
The SOMBRERO SALSA RED cultivar is a compact introduction to the Echinacea genus, distinguished by its vibrant, single-row bloom of drooping, deep orange-red rays surrounding a sombrero-shaped, orange-brown center cone often reaching 3 inches in diameter. The genus name Echinacea refers to the hedgehog-like spiny cone found at the flower’s center. This specific patented cultivar, ‘Balsomsed’, offers sturdy, non-staking stems and is smaller and more uniform than the standard species, typically growing 22-24 inches tall.
Tolerances
- Deer
- Drought
- Clay Soil
- Dry Soil
- Shallow-Rocky Soil
Potential Problems
Japanese beetle feeding can occasionally become an issue, sometimes resulting in noticeable leaf damage. Additionally, leaf spot diseases may occur, particularly in humid conditions or if air circulation is poor around dense plantings.
To mitigate these problems, ensure excellent air flow by spacing plants according to recommendations and avoid overhead watering late in the day. Susceptibility to aster yellows disease, a serious condition spread by leafhoppers, means promptly removing and destroying infected plants is crucial, as aster yellows has no cure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Coneflower suitable for?
Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED is hardy and adaptable across USDA Zones 3 through 8.
How large does Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED grow?
This compact Coneflower typically reaches a height between 1.5 and 2 feet, with a spread between 1 and 1.5 feet wide.
When does Coneflower bloom?
The primary bloom time for this variety is from June through August, displaying its orange-red rays against the dark cone center.
What sun exposure does Coneflower need?
This plant performs best when situated in full sun, though it tolerates partial shade conditions.
Conclusion
The Coneflower, specifically the exceptional Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED, is a foundational perennial offering remarkable resilience combined with arresting summer color. Its low maintenance schedule and broad adaptability make it an essential component for sustainable, colorful garden design. Before planting, ensure your site offers full sun and well-drained soil, and enjoy the long season of beautiful orange-red blooms.
Companion Planting
This Coneflower integrates seamlessly into sun-drenched perennial combinations. Pairing it with plants that share similar dry-tolerant requirements creates a cohesive, low-water landscape. Consider companions like Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) for contrasting silvery foliage and taller vertical accents, or various Sedums which offer complementary, dense texture underneath the lifted blooms.
For traditional cottage garden appeal, cluster Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED with garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) or taller False Spirea (Astilboides tabularis), ensuring all selections can handle bright sun exposure. Its preference for dry soil after establishment means it pairs well with many prairie natives, creating a robust, self-sustaining ecosystem rich with late-season interest.
Wildlife Benefits
Coneflowers are legendary for their ability to attract beneficial insects and birds, and SOMBRERO SALSA RED is no exception. The broad, accessible flower structure provides an excellent landing pad for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators actively foraging for nectar during the summer months.
Furthermore, by leaving the spent flower heads intact through autumn and winter, you provide a critical food source for seed-eating birds, most notably goldfinches. The hard, dark cones of the Echinacea purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ SOMBRERO SALSA RED offer lasting winter interest while sustaining local wildlife populations.
