Do the cones appear before the petals?

This post was edited by olreader on Thu, Jul 3, 14 at 11:05

That is a coneflower ... I don't know if cones are first.

Ratibida columnifera f. columnifera, which is sometimes called Upright Prairie Coneflower

Thank you. Last week I saw just the cones and I thought the petals had fallen off and I had missed the bloom. But then I think those same cones grew some petals, maybe not, I didn't look very closely.

Last year was a hot year, and our Arkansas plants were still in full flower at the end of July. Your Colorado plants should just be at the start of their blooming season.