Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) is a perennial plant that thrives in hardiness zones 3-9. The plant features a single bright yellow flower at the end of a long stem. The 2-inch yellow petals droop downward and are arranged around a grayish-brown cone, covered with hundreds of tiny brown disc flowers blooming from the bottom up.
These flowers bloom from June through September. When the cone is pinched, it emits an anise scent. The flowers are particularly attractive to bees, which gather both nectar and pollen. They also make excellent cut flowers. Additionally, butterflies and other pollinators play a crucial role.
The Gray-headed Coneflower is the host plant for the silvery checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne nycteis), the wavy-lined emerald moth (Synchlora aerata), the specialist sunflower moth (Homoeosoma ellectellum), and the Epiblema iowana moth.
This plant requires full sun to part shade and can grow to a mature height of 2 to 5 feet, with a mature spread of 1.5 to 2.5 feet. It prefers moist, dry, and well-drained sandy or clay soils, and once established, it is drought-tolerant and deer and rabbit resistant.
Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) is a perennial plant that thrives in hardiness zones 3-9. The plant features a single bright yellow flower at the end of a long stem. The 2-inch yellow petals droop downward and are arranged around a grayish-brown cone, covered with hundreds of tiny brown disc flowers blooming from the bottom up.
These flowers bloom from June through September. When the cone is pinched, it emits an anise scent. The flowers are particularly attractive to bees, which gather both nectar and pollen. They also make excellent cut flowers. Additionally, butterflies and other pollinators play a crucial role.
The Gray-headed Coneflower is the host plant for the silvery checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne nycteis), the wavy-lined emerald moth (Synchlora aerata), the specialist sunflower moth (Homoeosoma ellectellum), and the Epiblema iowana moth.
This plant requires full sun to part shade and can grow to a mature height of 2 to 5 feet, with a mature spread of 1.5 to 2.5 feet. It prefers moist, dry, and well-drained sandy or clay soils, and once established, it is drought-tolerant and deer and rabbit resistant.
