Still no significant rain....

Although most herbaceous & woody perennials have lost their foliage, their roots are still looking for water. Evergreens especially still need to be watered in this drought situation. A medium size evergreen (15 ft.) could use 50 plus gallons of water twice a week until the ground stays frozen. Any new trees or shrubs should get a few drinks too. Often our established, older trees are overlooked, because they are 'established.' What would you rather have die of thirst, your 3 year old maple tree or your 40 year old maple tree? Water those trees!

Echinacea

Echinacea's are also known as coneflowers. They have become very popular over the last several years. In the beginning...there was only purple, and now there are numerous colors available. Whites, corals, oranges, maroons, yellows & pinks.

Many of the newer varieties should be grown w/caution. Some are as not hardy as they claim. We are zone 4 here in southern Minnnsota. A plant that is zone 5, will rarely survive here. Zone 3 is north of us, so they should always do good here. When trying some of the new varieties, buy one and winter it over first to see how it does. I had some of the 'sky series' and they survived but did not thrive, and increase.

Love this color. I grow several kinds from seed, started in early spring. They get field planted mid-late summer. The next spring some are dug and potted for sale. There are all different types of cones, small - large, flat - conical. I like to use coneflowers in bouquets, and I also like to pick off all the petals and just use the cones in small bunches. In late fall after petals had dropped, stems can be cut and cones spray painted to use in holiday decorations or stuck in your Christmas tree.

Plant Care;

plant in full sun (at last 6 hours per day)

water; average to dry

soil; well draining and lean (meaning not to rich with fertilizer)

care; very little once established, prairie type plant

divide; every 3-5 years if needed