Echinacea 'White Swan' Coneflower

Echinacea 'White Swan' Coneflower offers large, honey scented blooms of pure white from early through late summer. Each flower's petals sweep gracefully back from a coppery brown, spiky cone, a striking contrast that gives this classic perennial its elegance. Upright plants reach 24 to 36 inches tall and 12 to 24 inches wide.

This coneflower is equally at home in formal beds and borders, prairies and meadows, wildflower and cottage gardens, containers, and small gardens. The blooms are lovely fresh or dried. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and birds visit throughout summer, and seed heads left in fall feed birds. Pair it with Kniphofia, Eryngium planum, Rudbeckia fulgida, and Achillea for a refined summer composition. Native to the central and eastern U.S., coneflowers have been cultivated since the 1700s.

Plant in full sun in average, well drained soil of chalk, loam, or sand at any pH; it adapts to clay, rocky, dry, and poor soils. Water needs are low to average once settled. Hardy in Zones 3 to 8, 'White Swan' is deer resistant and tolerates drought, heat, humidity, and salt. Deadhead and cut back stems to encourage additional flowers, and divide in spring or fall. Honey scented white blooms paired with remarkable resilience define its appeal.