Crazy for Terra Nova Nurseries’ Coneflowers

With so much hype buzzing around the gardening world right after OFA Short Course last weekend, we didn’t want this wonderful tidbit of news about Terra Nova Nurseries to get lost or forgotten. So, we take to our blog to report the most recent completed study that the Mt. Cuba Center performed, titled “Coneflowers for the Mid-Atlantic Region”. Mt. Cuba Center is a non-profit horticultural institution in northern Delaware that is, according to their website, dedicated to the study, conservation and appreciation of plants native to the Appalachian Piedmont region through garden display, education and research.

While the study can be easily found on Mt. Cuba’s website, we want to bring out the highlights surrounding Terra Nova Nurseries. The basics of the study are simple: three years involving 5 species and 43 cultivars of coneflowers. The end evaluation reflected each cultivar’s floral display, habit, hardiness, cultural adaptability and resistance to disease and insects. The results exalted two Terra Nova Nurseries’ varieties as the recommended coneflowers in the white and orange categories. Echinacea ‘Fragrant Angel’ was deemed the highest rated white coneflower due to its uniform consistency or growth and floriferous and fragrant nature.

And, Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’ stole the spotlight as the highest rated orange coneflower based on its characteristics: stunning color; broad, sturdy petals; a relaxed and open habit; and increased vigor.


The study even noted Dan Heims from Terra Nova Nurseries as one of the six breeders responsible for some of these hybrid coneflowers that were studied. What an honor for Dan!

~ Sarah Kate