Coneflower (Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit')
Durable Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' Coneflower offers multi-colored blooms from June to August. Low maintenance and highly drought-tolerant.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is a standout variety of Coneflower, recognized for its exceptional performance and vibrant, complex flower palette that blooms reliably through the summer months. This cultivar offers a spectrum of colors—including purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, cream, or white ray flowers surrounding a classic brown cone—all on one sturdy plant. As an AAS winner, this sturdy perennial provides fantastic value, flowering vigorously even in its first year of planting.
This adaptable Coneflower thrives in conditions that challenge less robust landscape plants, boasting excellent tolerance for heat, humidity, and difficult soils. Its manageable size, ranging from 1 to 2.5 feet tall, makes Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ perfect for filling spaces where reliable color and pollinator attraction are desired.
Beyond the summer display, this plant offers excellent late-season texture. The dried flower heads remain standing well into winter, providing structure and potential winter seed sources for birds like goldfinches, linking aesthetics to ecological value.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Asteraceae
- Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 4-9
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 1-2.5 ft
- Spread: 1-2 ft
- Bloom Time: June to August
- Bloom Description: White, cream, red, pink, orange, yellow or purple ray flowers with brown disk flowers
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Water Needs: Dry to medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
Planting Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is best achieved in spring or early fall after the danger of hard frost has passed. For the best flower performance and color saturation, select a location that receives full sun, although it tolerates part shade. This Coneflower is highly adaptable, preferring average soils but establishing well even in dry to medium moisture conditions, provided the soil is well-drained.
Once established, this plant requires minimal attention. It is exceptionally tolerant of drought, heat, and even challenging clay or shallow, rocky soils, making it perfect for low-input gardening spaces. While prompt removal of spent flowers (deadheading) encourages more blooms, Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ will rebloom decently even without this intervention, highlighting its low-maintenance nature.
Mature clumps of Coneflower benefit from division every four years or so if overcrowding occurs. No serious fertilization is typically needed; focus instead on ensuring adequate drainage. In late winter or early spring, cut back the dead foliage before new growth emerges.
Landscape Uses
Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ excels when used in mass plantings or groups, particularly due to its multi-toned blooms providing continuous visual interest. The suggested_use for this plant includes naturalizing areas where its toughness can shine, making it ideal for meadows or less intensely managed sections of the garden.
For traditional borders, plant this sturdy Coneflower toward the middle or back, depending on the surrounding perennials, as it provides excellent vertical structure. It integrates beautifully into rock gardens or woodland edge plantings that receive adequate light.
Consider pairing this colorful Coneflower with other drought-tolerant prairie natives like ornamental grasses, Rudbeckia, or native Salvias. Their combined textures and similar cultural needs ensure a cohesive, resilient planting scheme throughout the summer months.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
- Good Cut
Noteworthy Characteristics
The genus name Echinacea derives from the Greek word echinos, referencing the spiny center cone found on most flowers. Introduced in 2012, ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ earned accolades like the 2013 AAS Gold Medal for its sturdy branching and first-year flowering versatility in a wide color range. These flowers are highly attractive to various insect pollinators throughout their long bloom window.
Tolerances
- Deer
- Drought
- Clay Soil
- Dry Soil
- Shallow-Rocky Soil
Potential Problems
Coneflowers, including the popular Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’, are generally robust but can occasionally face issues, primarily relating to fungal infections. All coneflowers are susceptible to aster yellows, which discolors the foliage, and various fungal or bacterial leaf spots, which often appear when humidity is high or air circulation is poor. To mitigate these, ensure the plant receives good air movement and avoid overhead watering, especially late in the day.
Pest watch should include looking out for erythroid mites and Japanese beetles, though the plant’s high tolerance for difficult conditions often means fewer pest problems than other ornamentals. Good garden hygiene, such as removing all old foliage in the fall, helps reduce overwintering fungal spores.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Coneflower suitable for?
Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is robustly cold-hardy, thriving in USDA Zones 4 through 9.
How large does Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ grow?
This variety typically reaches a mature height between 1 and 2.5 feet, with a spread of 1 to 2 feet, offering a dense, well-branched presence.
When does Coneflower bloom?
This Coneflower variety displays its multi-hued flowers continuously from June right through August, providing excellent mid-summer color coverage.
What sun exposure does Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ need?
For optimal flowering, full sun exposure is recommended, although it will also establish and bloom adequately in areas receiving part shade.
Conclusion
Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ offers gardeners a versatile, award-winning perennial that combines low maintenance with an impressive rainbow of summer blooms. Its ability to handle drought and poor soils makes this Coneflower an indispensable component for sustainable landscape designs. Check your local hardiness zone compatibility today and plan to mass plant this colorful variety for maximum impact next season.
Wildlife Benefits
The value of Coneflower extends deeply into supporting local ecosystems through its rich nectar sources. Throughout its June to August bloom period, Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ acts as a major magnet for butterflies and numerous bee species, crucial for pollination in the garden. Planting clumps of this perennial ensures a consistent, reliable food supply for these beneficial insects during the peak summer heat.
Furthermore, resist the urge to deadhead every single spent flower head in the late fall. Allowing the spiny, blackened cones of the Coneflower to remain standing serves as an important winter food source for seed-eating birds, most notably goldfinches. This practice provides both visual winter interest and practical wildlife support.
Propagation Tips
While Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is often purchased as nursery stock to ensure first-year bloom consistency, gardeners can propagate this perennial via division or seed collection. Division is easiest performed in early spring before new growth begins, or in early fall, separating the established clumps when they become overcrowded (typically every four years). Ensure each division has adequate root structure to establish successfully.
For seed propagation, allow the flower heads to dry completely on the stem through the autumn and winter. Collect the dried cones, clean the seeds, and subject them to a period of cold, moist stratification to mimic winter conditions before sowing them in the spring. Keep in mind that Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is a complex hybrid, so seed-grown plants may revert to differing color patterns than the parent plant.
