Chicago Botanic Garden Summer 2019

Coneflower: This pollinator favorite is worth preserving • A favorite for bees and butterflies • An easily grown, drought-tolerant plant that prefers full sun and well-drained soil • Official flower of Cook County • The Garden’s plant breeding program has developed several coneflowers that have been introduced through Chicagoland Grows ® . They include Echinacea 'Arts Pride' Orange Meadowbrite™, the first orange-colored coneflower ever released. • Echinacea is currently being studied as part of our plant evaluation program, one of the few in the United States that formally evaluates perennials. You can visit the trial plots in the Lavin Evaluation Garden. • One takeaway of the Echinacea Project: “Our 25-year study of Echinacea augustifolia in Minnesota has shown that controlled spring fires are critical to help plants flower, make seed, and survive,” said conservation scientist Stuart Wagenius, Ph.D. • You can find coneflowers in shades from purple to yellow to white throughout the Garden. Use the GardenGuide app to locate Echinacea and other blooms. • The Heritage Garden will feature drifts of coneflowers and even a coneflower sculpture during Bees & Beyond.