I purchased Art's Pride about six years ago as a new introduction by the Chicago Botanic Garden. They were named after Art Nolan who was the director of a large foundation which contributed funds to Dr. Jim Ault who bred Art's Pride.
I ordered them online because they were not readily available in the garden centers. I ordered three bareroot plants and put them by the side of my cedar shed the, site of my mini cottage garden, which borders my raised bed vegetable garden.
I was very disappointed when they bloomed and I saw two Art's Pride next to each other and then this yellow speciman which looked just like the orange flowers but yellow!.
I guess I could have complained to the online nursery, but I decided to investigate what this plant might be. As I read about Art's Pride I found out that sometimes this Echinacea produces a sport, and guess what, this sport is Mango Meadowbrite. I kept all three, one Art's Pride succumed after a couple of years, so I am left with one Art's Pride and one Mango. They are not as sturdy or as upright as other Echinaceas but I have come to love them for their whispy nature. They are perfect in this casual farm-like area.
Subsequent to the development of these two unusually colored Echinaceas there have been many more orange and yellow varieties, i.e., Sunset, Sundown, Sunrise, Harvest Moon, etc.
Even after all of these years the Meadowbrites are difficult to find. I have never seen them at Home Depot. However, they are still available online.
25 comments:
Haven't been around for awhile, but really felt the need for some cheering up since all I have seen for weeks is snow. Pop over for a visit some time. Great post.
QMM
I loved the pictures of your town. Thank you for visiting.
Eileen
Dear Eileen, This story is a little disappointing for you but I suspect that you are being quite positive about it as you have ended up with two varieties. I very much like the Echinaceas, Cone Flowers, and they are relatively easy to obtain in the UK. At present I only grow E. 'White Swan' but I love the purply toned ones. Your burnt orange/caramel cultivar is very dramatic.
I grow White Swan also. It is a very sturdy variety and the rabbits do not seem to like it as they do the other varieties. I actually had a White Swan that turned to pink because it was planted with the Magnus variety. I guess there was some cross pollination going on!
They both are very pretty! I love all the different varieties of Echinacea. I grow Sundown and was happy to find them coming back a few days ago. I know they aren't as hardy as some of the others. Now I'm going to look and see if you have more posts of your cedar shed here. We're going to be adding a cedar shed to our yard this year.
Your gardens are beautiful. My Coneflower sure doesn't seem to multiply very much. I've got seeds this year so hopefully they'll work. Although seeds and I don't work well together I'm still planting a bunch this year.
Catherine,I will post a larger pictureof the shed at the bottom of my blog. It is approximately three feet deep by six feet long. I added the mirror type window and hayracks. It does have a real window also.
Thank you Raingardner,
Coneflowers in general are a bit slower multiplying. The Meadowbrites have multiplied, but they are still not what I would call bushy.
Oh, I love it! That's close to the size we'll be looking for. Thanks for sharing!
Oh no! Oh my! New Echinacea's. I love these flowers. Just when I think I am catching up on acquiring the newer ones they come out with more. LOL! I love how the center on the Mango Meadowbrite almost matches the petals. So many flowers and so little room. ;-)
Have a wonderful weekend Eileen.
Lona
Hi Lona,
I hope you can find these locally. If not, try High Country Gardens, Digging Dog or White Flower Farm. I wish I had been able to see Tracy present at the Flower Show.
Eileen
Very pretty, I know these as cone flowers, tough I don't know much about the history and breeding of them like you. Love the colors of them.
I like planned gardens, but I also like it when I get a little surprise.
I got a whole bunch of bulbs one year, no idea what they were, but I got them for free.
They were like little christmas presents, waiting for each one to grow so I could see what it was.
Thank you Linda for visiting. I love those little piggies on your site.
Eileen
Troy, I am a obig fan of herbs in the garden. I can't wait to try some of your recipes.
Eileen
A huge fan of echinacea, I have tried several of the new varieties mentioned with no luck :( I know when I hit the nurseries this spring, they will tempt me again :)
I have also lost some of the newer ones like Sunrise and Sunset. I have had much better luck with White Swan and Magnus and the Meadowbrites.
Eileen
Hi Eileen, I've tried so many different coneflowers, have only had luck with Magnus, White Swan, and natives. Overall I've had better success with coneflowers from seed than with purchased plants. I haven't tried Meadowbrights though.
We don't have much sun, and most of the garden space here has heavy competition from silver maple roots. Natives from seed seem to do best, but the bunnies love to eat them. I do love the colors of many of the new cultivars - Art's Pride and Mango are very pretty.
I agree with you. Some of the newer cultivars have not been as hardy for me (Sunrise, Sunset) as my White Swan, Magnus and Meadowbrites.
You may have trouble finding the Meadowbrites because all of the newer varieties have taken over after they were introduced. Check online for availability. The coneflowers will take some shade, not too wet though.
Eileen
Hi ... you may get this message twice... suspect I may have goofed up. You asked about the tree peony on my blog... it was definitely from White Flower Farm, but not on their site any longer. I haven't kept very good records, but will check a few places and hope I can find the name. I love the echinaceas but lost many so just have old fashioned ones now... they were in too rich a soil I suspect... need to go for it again. I'm considering what dwarf conifers to order this morning... and to think, I told my wife I wasn't getting any plants this year! Of course, she saw right through that comment... Larry
I have had better luck with White Swan and Magnus and the Meadowbrites. The newer varieties such as Sunrise and Sunset, I have lost some.
What a delight to see the Penstemon composition in the column to the right of this posting. Sorry for not commenting on Echinacea but I can never get enough of blue flowers especially when they are set off by pink or red ones.
Allan, just left a comment for you! I did not yet receive permission from High Country Gardens to use the picture from their website of Penstemon "Blue Lips." It is a beautiful blue, lighter than the picture I had to use. They are the only supplier, so go on their website to see the real thing.
I love that phlox! I just ordered some Nicky that gardening friends recommended as being quite mildew resistant as well!
No luck finding the tree peony variety... I'm sorry. Song Sparrow does have a number that look very similar... also check out Cricket Hill Garden on the web.Larry
Thanks Larry,
I did a recent blog on how I never remember the names of my green things like hosta and ferns. I am not a lablel person, although I guess I should be. I did see a Pink one at SOng Sparrow that looked very nice.
Eileen
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