I have double scoop bubble gum. Planted this spring. I'm afraid it will bloom itself to death. I have picked off two spent blooms, they last forever. 14 on the plant blooming now, and more buds coming. i can hardly see the plant for all the flowers. I'll be interested to see if it returns next year.

Thank you for the insight. You're right, flower girl. It seems to bloom excessively...which is great unless it blooms itself out. It appears to be a sturdy plant, and the double bloom is amazing. I guess only time will tell. I'd love to get cranberry, raspberry and bubble gum.

Who names these plants? Really?

I just planted these yesterday with some red switch grass, Shenandoah, and Japanese silver grass. The orange berry is stunning! I can't wait to fill out the rest of the bed next year.

Here is a close up of the orange berry the night before I planted it.

Another view...

Its now Sept and double scoop bubble gum is still going strong. I first posted about this one in June. I have lost track of how many spent flowers I've cut off, they seem to last forever. There are always more coming. Its now surrounded by perennial ageratum and looks gorgeous.

How did these do in the last year and a half since the original post? I really would love to get some but would like to hear if they came back for you? Thanks!

I hate to report that I lost it from stupidity. It was late coming up the following spring(2014) and dumb me, I had to dig where it was planted and cut right into it. it was starting to grow and I planted it back right away, but alas it didn't live.I have been looking for it but nobody is carrying it around here. I'm going to try to order it. I loved the pink, and would like to have the other colors also.

Thank you for the update... I'm torn because on one hand I read that people are frusterated with what seems to be a high loss rate... But I REALLY want one of these. :-). Hopefully I'm not naive thinking "mine might make it", but I think I'm going to give it a shot- in part because you gave me hope that it "might" come back, thanks!

IHow long can you torture yourself about a plant you deeply desire? Its not like spending $15k on a car and finding out its a lemon or you hate it. For heaven's sake, buy the darned thing. Consider it a service to gardenweb world: we all want to know if it will live through the winter.

We could crowdsource it for you- a buck a piece. I bet 15 of us would give a dollar.

Seriously, I could't torture myself wanting a plant as much as you want this one.

Sorry, I see you had given in all on your own. It pays to read the posts. I do hope you enjoy it.

Marie

I grew 5 of them in zone 5 last year.... beautiful plant - loved it. Big robust plants lots of flowers, was fertilized 2x during the summer and was winter mulched. Not a single one of them came back this spring. At 15.99 a plant ... that hurt!

I can understand both of the last two posts . . . but for me, a person who buys plants on clearance and trades for them to save $$$, it is REALLY important that a plant that I buy actually live. I really really really want some of these fancy echinacea, but I've been told by many people they don't have a high winter survival rate, maybe due in part to the fact that some are grafted? I don't know which ones are and which ones aren't. They are so very pretty, though. I love the double pinks . . .

You might try Pink Double Delight, it comes back for me every year. You will gradually get some seedlings that will be interesting too. If you get some you don't like pull them out

I'm in zone 6b/5a. My experience is that coneflowers need a long start to establish before winter dormancy. I have been consistently disappointed with my late summer and fall planted ones; they rarely made it through the winter. Pink Double Delight being one I paid full price for and it never thrived or weakened unto death.

The chicago botantic garden did ech field trials:

http://www.newenglandgrows.org/2013/uploads/handouts/HawkeHandout.pdf

That's only the chart. You can google for the longer article.

A number of doubles did quite well. Unfortunately, I'm not so fond of the doubles, except Pink Double Delight which, as I said......

I planted double delight pink last year. It was OK, but short. This year it's back, taller and a blooming machine, just nuts. Same with milkshake and one that was supposed to be red, but it looks like cantaloupe.

I have tried several times with the more exotic cultivars. Whether the doubles or the orangey colors, never has a single one made it through the winter. My standard, old style pink one is over 15 years old. It must depend on your zone. If I buy any more, they must be cheap and I will call them annuals.

A comment about the newer echinacea hybrids, Double Scoop, Cone-fections, etc. For the first year in the garden, use the blooms as cut flowers. Don't let them go to seed. They are so floriferous that the energy goes into the blooms and not the roots. Give them a little help in this regard. That might do the trick.

I'm in Zone 4-5 WI and last year (2014) the ground was completely frozen by November 1st. That's about 3 weeks early for us. Alot of plant loss, especially on newly planted and first year stuff as they didn't harden off properly. Could be another reason for Echinacea losses last spring.

Here is an interesting article I found on this subject concerning winter hardiness, hybrids and life expectancy. It makes a lot of sense to me. The standard unimproved types have a good root system with a taproot. I've never lifted the skirts of a hybrid to see whats going on underground but I bet the writer is right, not enough root to take too much moisture and cold because the energy is devoted to the flowers. I've moved the common E. purpurea, they transplant easily and have a good strong root because they are highly adapted to bitter conditions in the wild over a large area of the US.
http://plantsnouveau.com/2009/10/24/winter-hardy-echinaceas/

I see that article was written by the president of a marketing firm that assists growers in promotion of new varieties - not someone whose focus is home gardening.

My own experience is that there's a considerable hardiness gap between "standard" Echinacea hybrids grown from seed and the newer "fancy" hybrids. The one exception I've seen is "Cheyenne Spirit", in which case even relatively small seed-grown plants overwinter fine. In several instances where I've bought (relatively cheaply, thankfully) hot new hybrid plants, they've either died over the winter or lasted just one season. One key factor may be this line from the linked article:

"With the addition of the E. paradoxa gene – the plants are a bit more susceptible to winter rot."

Sadly, it seems that Echinacea hybridizers have been guilty of the same practice that's caused disappointment for gardeners trying out other hot new perennials (Coreopsis, anyone?) - not trialing plants for long enough and in different zones in order to gauge whether something that looks good in a catalog photo is a good bet for perennial gardeners. Instead, the focus is on generating quick sales.

I've added many coneflowers to the garden in the past couple of years, but rely on proven seed-grown types. At $10-15 or more per plant, great-looking but frail Echinacea aren't worth it.

I bought two double scoop raspberries on 6/27/16 on sale. They are a gorgeous deep orange right now, the blooms having JUST opened. Hope they are in the ground long enough to last thru the winter! I'll try to remember to mulch them.

Where did you get them rginnie?

My Pink Double delight blooming now, couldn't be better. Last fall I bought another one of the double Scoops at Walmarts, cranberry I think it was. It lived thru the winter and is getting ready to bloom. I bought a double orange 3 years ago, no name on it. Lived and bloomed last year. Getting ready to bloom again and there are 5 seedlings. I'm anxious to see what color they will be.

Peoria Heights Nursery in Peoria...25% off. But annuals were half off. Bushes and roses on sale too. Are you in this area?

I purchased two double scoop raspberry last year at Walmart and they bloomed beautifully this year. I'm in zone 7. They have gotten top heavy and I'm propping them up with sticks. I was really happy they didn't revert to single blooms like some hybrids do.

I know this is an older thread, but I just wanted to add that I planted a number of coneflower last summer & they all wintered in the north great. The only double one was "hot papaya". The rest are the single ones - pow wow white, Cheyenne spirit, rainbow Marcelo, sombrero, and a peach one (name?). I would like to purchase more of the double petal ones this year. I'm really liking the long blooming nature, colours & easiness of the coneflowers. Plus the bees love them.

mine set a TON of seed this year - i am guessing that if i plant them it will be a grab bag of random echinacea properties? a hybrid like double pink can't possibly come true from seed, methinks...

I have tried getting viable seed from doubles and have never found a single one. You will get tons of the empty seed husked though. Open some up and see if you find any seed inside... Like opening a sunflower seed for the edible part.

I know this is an old thread, but i thought id add to it in case it can help someone out, I bought raspberry double scoop last year and snipped all the buds off it per an article i read that said this would allow it to conantrate on setting its roots before winter ( im in zone 4) i hated doing it, but im so glad i did. My coneflower came back this summer and its beautiful with a ton of blooms, ive purchased more doubles this year and ive done the same thing with those and with any luck they too will be beautiful next year.

/HU-526247716

I'd encourage you to repost this as a new post/topic. People may not have the patience to scroll through nearly 30 [posts to see your last one, which is really good information. It's information I've read too. And while I was reading the previous 30 posts I kept thinking "you are supposed to cut the flowers off in year one!" And "don't bother planting in the fall!"

t.

It's not rude to start a new thread to post new information. It is encouraged . I hope you'll do it. I think you'll get a lot of interest. As well as a lot of complaints about the all the echs that have died in people's gardens after one season. I hate to think of the money I wasted on all those Big Sky echinaceas.

Marie

Another note of encouragement to those considering the Doublescoops. I have the "Bubblegum" variety in high desert, zone 4a, compacted crap clay soil. Absolutely bombproof, doesn't need fertilizer, every plant keeps coming back bigger and stronger each year. Also makes a fantastic cut flower (I use them a lot in arrangements). Highly, highly recommend. Now if I could get my hands on "Orangeberry" or "Hot Papaya" variety to diversify!