Is Purple Coneflower deer resistant?

Coarse bristly leaves are what deter deer, and the stiff cones stand through winter for goldfinches, so leave them standing. The straight species is far longer-lived than the double and orange cultivars, most of which fade out within a few seasons. Aster yellows disease causes distorted green flowers; remove affected plants entirely.

Do deer eat coneflowers?

Seldom. Rutgers rates purple coneflower Seldom Severely Damaged, and NC State's entry for Echinacea purpurea lists deer first among the challenges it resists, ahead of drought, dry soil, heat, humidity, poor soil and salt. The bristle on the leaf is the reason, as above. Under heavy pressure the flower buds get taken in June before they open, which is the usual complaint, and a clump browsed once is rarely browsed again once the cones harden.

Protecting coneflowers

Mostly unnecessary. Where buds are going, one application of the 20 percent egg spray Colorado State rates High at bud set, good for about thirty days, covers the window; after that the cone is a seedhead and nothing wants it but the goldfinches. NC State: "Songbirds, especially American goldfinches, eat the seeds," so "leave some of the flower heads on."

What browsing does to it

A coneflower browsed in bud branches and flowers later and lower; the plant is unharmed. NC State's other reason to leave the stems standing is that "native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems," and its instruction is to cut back to 12 to 24 inches and let them stand until they disintegrate. Bloom runs June through August and into mid-fall on a plant of 3 to 4 feet, and the straight species outlives the cultivars, as above.