1.) I see mulch in the photo. Be sure you pull the mulch away from the crown of this plant.

2.) These require full sun. Does this get full sun? It looks very shady in the photo. Is that a clematis growing in the background? Make sure you have this planted in your sunniest location.

3.) Could you be over-watering? These don't require as much water? Let it dry out between waterings.

4.) These like coarse, and slightly organic soil.

5.) This could be good in a way for your plant (not to bloom the first year). Your plant will develop very strong roots for next year. Your tiki torch is looking very good to me other than the blooms.

I'm going to guess too much nitrogen.
Michaela

I'm glad I looked at this thread even though I don't have Tiki Torch!

That's exactly what's happened to my two echinacea... Fragrant Angel and After Midnight.

I used North Country organic 5-3-4 that was recommended by a nursery nearby for whatever that's worth. It has a list of micronutrients in it also. Is that too much nitrogen for echinacea?

I thought they could take "part" sun since web sites say same thing as on one like White Flower Farm:
"Echinacea, a North American genus in the Daisy family, has big, bright flowers that appear in late June and keep coming into September. Plants thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions, shrug off cold, and are equally at home in full sun or partial shade."

I also thought I had to keep it moist after planting in garden for first season. Thought it would die if it got dried out once.

I think I read too many gardening instructions on too many web sites and believe them without firsthard experience.

One last thing...what do you mean by "coarse" soil? Should there be something like tiny gravel in soil? Been told by many people on these forums that sand is an absolute NO-NO for mixing into clay soil.

Thanks!

newbie in nj,

Here's something I found for you...

Soil texture refers to the composition of the soil in terms of the proportion of small, medium, and large particles (clay, silt, and sand, respectively) in a specific soil mass. For example, a coarse soil is a sand or loamy sand, a medium soil is a loam, silt loam, or silt, and a fine soil is a sandy clay, silty clay, or clay.

I add sand to my coneflower beds every chance I get. I find that the sand on the top of the soil helps coneflowers by helping the crowns stay drier. It also makes it easier for me to pull weeds.

We've got some fine sand left over from slate patio installation many moons ago. Worried about it being too fine to add to clay soil.

Should I find some "builder's sand" for larger particle size so it doesn't bind with clay for impenetrable top layer?

Coneflowers grow just fine in clay-based soil as long as they aren't water-logged. Contrary to what you've heard, a fine pea gravel (or permatill) is an excellent amendment for clay soil; sand is not (clay + sand = brick).

BTW, The link below will take you to an excellent article on soil preparation from a well-known plantsman who is very familiar with clay soils. Although the first half of the article is hosta-centric, the latter half of the article addresses amending clay soils.

Here is a link that might be useful: Article on soils

Thanks for hints and links, guys.

Found 2 local garden retailers for PermaTill but couldn't get through on phone today. Will try again on Monday.

Also sent email inquiry to local outlet of NJ building material chain about #78 washed stone (pea gravel) also mentioned in Tony Avent's article.

It may be a little tricky working this material into beds while things are in bud or blooming but I'll do my best not to disturb roots once I get material. Also, I've got enough "filler" annuals that will peter out by late fall so I can work it in on a larger scale as close to perennials as possible without damaging roots.

After what I read on PermaTill site I'll be using it 50-50 with potting soil for potted bulbs this fall.

This should help a great deal even though I worked in MANY bags of compost and scrounged leaf mould to 24" when first digging beds. I know many of the plants I've got want better drainage than one season of organic material can provide.

I may latch onto some builder's sand anyway to put around plants with sensitive crowns.

Thanks again. :)

I recently obtained four of these by mail order, and decided to leave them in their containers until I had seen one bloom. The first bud did exactly what yours did and died, despite being left in the grower's medium in full sun, kept from drying out, but not overwatered. I staked the second bud when it began to bend over and that saved it. Lovely bloom, but I think the marketer of this clone is not telling us something when this happens so readily. I am going to contact Terra Nova to see if I can get an explanation.

These really need full sun for best flowering and you must not over-water them. Any of the yellow or orange echinaceas are a cross with Paradoxa. If you research that plant you'll have a very good idea of how to care for these. I had two or three plants of Tiki Torch. None of them did like these photos.

I contacted Terra Nova, and received the following reply, from someone who has lived with the plants for some years. My guess is that my plant suffered from having been fertilized in the container, not a good idea. In any case, I think this response is well worth considering:
I viewed the picture from the link you provided and without specific information from the person who has the plant it is challenging to make an accurate diagnosis.
The individual with the plant has made no mention of how they are growing the plant, what kind of light, soil, fertilizer, watering practices are being used, or where they are located (are they in an area of high heat and humidity?) etc. Without this information it really doesnÂt provide a solid foundation upon which to build a diagnosis. You will note there a several folks on the forum making wild guesses as to what the issue may be, based on little to no information from the questioner.
Our best guess, just from looking at the picture is that the drooping flower is from a fungal disease that is caused from overhead watering or heat and humidity this late in the summer or a combination of both.
Another point to consider is how the plants were grown from the nursery that they were purchased at. Many nurseries will try to push foliage and flowers by using lots of fertilizer which tends to produce tall leggy plants and shoots that are not as strong as if they were grown under normal gardening practices. This is something we cannot determine looking at just pictures, but is a question that does need to be raised. Echinaceas by nature do not need lots of fertilizer and in fact like the soil fertility to be on the lean side.
Before wild judgment calls are made against a plant or a nursery, going back to the basics and inquiring how a the Echinacea, or any plant for that mater, is currently being grown or how it was grown in a nursery will answer many questions.
I happen to be fortunate to look outside my sales office each and view a clump of 10 Echinaca ÂTiki Torch in full blazing sun next to our driveway and they are thriving! No drooping stemsÂjust lots of flowers that greet me every day. This particular clump is grown in full sun, in regular soil that has good drainage and we donÂt fertilize.
Regards,
Erik Petersen
Regional Sales Representative
Terra Nova Nurseries

i work at a retail nursery in the area. i had been waiting for e.t.t. to come in. it finally arrived and i purchased 3 plants from the same grower. a month into the season i noticed that one of my plants was doing exactly what the photo showed. i cut the flower and waited to see what would happed. the next flower did the same. the other two seemed fine, but were futher behind in bud production. this week i came back to work and was looking at the e.t.t. that we had just gotten in from two different growers. several of the buds on several different containers from both nurseries were showing the same symptoms. we put calls out to the wholesale growers today, but haven't gotten a response yet. when i started talking to this with my boss, she suggested i check the web. this is when i found this posting. this is a really expensive plant that we need to find out what is going on. please any response would be appreciated.
an update, my second plant is showing the same symptoms.

I believe this is the problem...

"Alternaria lesions cause collapse of the stem."

I had one with this problem and I sprayed with Daconcil and it is no longer doing this! Seriously. That cured it in my plant.

If you look at the link below you will see a photo towards the bottom that looks just like the one above.

Here is a link that might be useful: Echinacea Diseases

I had the same experience with the tiki torch. Bought it in late spring with one bloom already on it. As it faded, I clipped it. It as the first new bud that drooped and died. The next bud fell victim to a deer bite. But now there are 3 new buds, one beginning to open. we had a very wet June in NY, BTW.

I think the TT is ok now, but I'm really just waiting for next year. Lke an earlier poster said, the plant looks good otherwise. Maybe it really just needs a season to establish better. Sometimes less is more...

newbie in nj: "I thought they could take "part" sun since web sites say same thing as on one like White Flower Farm: "Echinacea, a North American genus in the Daisy family, has big, bright flowers that appear in late June and keep coming into September. Plants thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions, shrug off cold, and are equally at home in full sun or partial shade." I also thought I had to keep it moist after planting in garden for first season. Thought it would die if it got dried out once. I think I read too many gardening instructions on too many web sites and believe them without firsthard experience."

Thank you, newbie!! I thot I was the only one who thought the same things, and I've been gardening for much, much, much longer than you have.
Pat in SE Michigan

We've had tons of rain, and my echinacea is drooping! It is several years old and very health otherwise. What can I do?

everything that was suggested in the 7 years of answers above ... ken