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Products > Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'
 
Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' - Purple Coneflower

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Perennial
Family: Asteraceae (Sunflowers)
Origin: North America
Flower Color: Rose Pink
Bloomtime: Spring/Summer
Height: 2-3 feet
Width: 2-3 feet
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: < 0 °F
Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' (Purple Coneflower) - A deciduous perennial that forms clumps to 18 inches wide with flowers rising to 30 inches or better - noted as reaching 4 feet tall if really happy but we have not seen this. It has attractive dark green foliage and lightly-fragrant dark rosy-pink flowers to 5 inches across with orange-yellow disks slightly elongated into cones - flowers primarily from spring through summer but in wild climates often longer. This selection is distinguished by petals that don't reflex back along the flower stem as much as most Coneflowers. Plant in full sun to light shade with average garden watering - tolerates heat and drought but also wet soils - best in neutral to slightly acid conditions. Very frost hardy - good in USDA zone 2 (-50°F). An outstanding cut flower and a great addition to the mixed border where it attracts bees, butterflies and birds to the garden. After flowering, the petals can be removed and the dried cone can then be used in dry arrangements. This plant is a selection of Echinacea purpurea that is native to the dry prairies and open woodlands of the central U.S. The name for the genus comes from the Greek word "echinos" for hedgehog in reference to the Coneflower's spiky central cone and the specific epithet makes reference to the typical purple color of the ray flowers. It has long been advocated as an herbal drug used to ward off colds and flu by stimulating the immune system at the onset of symptoms. The wild form of Coneflower was improved upon with more than a decade's work of selection and breeding conducted by Magnus B. Nilsson, a Swedish nurseryman. In 1982 Mr. Nilsson offered the result of his successful breeding to Klaus Jelitto of Jelitto Seed, who named the selection 'Magnus' to honor the breeder. Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' was first introduced in the 1985 Jelitto catalog. It was the winner of the Perennial Association Plant of the Year in 1998 and the Award of Garden Merit from The Royal Horticultural Society in 2003. We discontinued growing this plant in 2014. 

The information displayed on this page about Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
We closed for regular business at the end of 2025 in order for the property to be developed for affordable housing.
Our gates remain closed but we will open them by appointment to interested parties through August 21st to liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment.
The plants remaining in the field are listed on our
Live Inventory Page.