Echinacea 'Sombrero Adobe Orange'
Coneflower
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Supplied as an established plant in a 3 litre pot
Aspect
Full sun
Hardiness
Fully hardy
Flowers
Summer to early autumn
Soil
Loam, sand, chalk
About this plant
Warm orange blooms for the late summer border
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Description
Echinacea 'Sombrero Adobe Orange' is a compact, free-flowering herbaceous perennial producing warm, rich orange, daisy-like flowers with a prominent dark central cone from midsummer through to early autumn. Part of the Sombrero series, bred for a more compact, well-branched habit and exceptional flower production compared with older coneflower cultivars, it holds its blooms on strong stems that need no staking and performs with impressive reliability over a long season. An excellent cut flower and an outstanding pollinator plant, it is particularly attractive to bees and butterflies, and its warm orange colouring makes it a natural companion for the rich amber, gold, and russet tones of late-summer prairie-style planting.
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Why we like it
Key features
What makes it special
Good for cutting
Loved by bees & pollinators
Specs & details
The particulars
- Botanical name
- Echinacea 'Sombrero Adobe Orange'
- Common name
- Coneflower
- Supplied as
- 3 litre pot
- Flower colour
- Orange
- Eventual height
- 40–55 cm
- Eventual spread
- 35–45 cm
- Flowering period
- Summer to early autumn
- Habit
- Compact, well-branched clump-forming perennial
- Life cycle
- Herbaceous perennial
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Aspect
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Loam, sand, chalk
- Moisture
- Well-drained
- Position
- Front of border, mid-border, gravel garden, cutting garden
- Plant spacing
- 6–7 plants per m²
- Growing skill
- Easy to grow
Plant calendar
When to plant, when it performs
Planting & care
Help it thrive
Planting guide
Echinacea 'Sombrero Orange' performs best in a well-drained soil in full sun; good drainage, particularly over winter, is more important to this plant's long-term success than soil fertility. On heavy clay soils, incorporate plenty of grit and compost before planting to improve drainage, or consider raising the planting position slightly. Set plants at the same depth as in their pot, spacing around 35–40 cm apart to allow for the compact mature spread. It establishes well in a range of reasonably fertile garden soils and tolerates dry conditions once settled, making it a reliable choice for gravel gardens and other free-draining sunny sites.
Care tips
Echinacea 'Sombrero Orange' is a straightforward and rewarding plant once established. Deadhead regularly through the flowering season to encourage continued bud production and prolong the display, though leaving some flowers to go to seed towards the end of the season provides valuable food for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds. No staking is required given the strong, well-branched stems characteristic of the Sombrero series. Cut the plant back to ground level in late winter or early spring, having left the seedheads in place over winter for structure and wildlife value. No regular feeding is needed on reasonably fertile soils; a light top-dressing of balanced fertiliser in spring is sufficient on poorer ground. Divide every three to four years in spring if flowering begins to decline.
Winter care
Echinacea 'Sombrero Orange' is fully hardy and requires no winter protection in most parts of the UK, though good drainage is important for reliable overwintering, as the plant is more vulnerable to losses from waterlogged soil in winter than from cold alone. Leave the seedheads standing through autumn and winter, as they provide valuable structure and a food source for birds, and are particularly attractive rimmed with frost. Cut back to ground level in late winter or early spring, just before new growth begins to emerge from the base. Divide congested clumps every three to four years in spring if flowering performance begins to decline.