Yep, the name needs a makeover, but Echibeckia for me is a winner. I love the look and summer and fall bloom time, and it survives my zone 6b winter, so I am always adding more. I picked up this relatively new cross at a local nursery. There are so many new varieties of perennials that it is hard to keep up with the deluge, but I have decided this one is a keeper after growing it for about five years.
Echibeckia is a hybrid plant resulting from a cross between Coneflower (Echinacea) and Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia). Combining desirable traits of both parent plants, the long-lasting, vibrant flowers fill a border or a vase with color. Since Coneflowers and Rudbeckias are favorites of many gardeners, the combo will have staying power and appeal to many gardeners everywhere. If you live in a colder climate, you can still grow them, but as an annual.
Summerina is the first three-variety series of this new cross, coming in an orange-with-yellow bicolor, a yellow-with-orange bicolor, and burnt orange. So, Echibeckias combine the look and fast growth of Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) with the hardiness and disease resistance of coneflowers (Echinacea). Combining these two staples of the garden was a slam dunk. Both tough plants on their own, a little bit north of me here in Maryland, would be their hardiness limit at -10 F being the drop dead winter temperature to survive.
Known for sturdy stems, and compact growth habit, these flowers just seem to be in bloom from early June to frost for me in the mid-Atlantic region. The one downside to Echibeckia is that surprisingly bunnies like them and I have to protect them when young with chicken wire cages. I would have thought with the almost prickly foliage and stems that bunnies would leave them alone but I have observed bunnies nibbling it down to the ground.
This post has been updated July 2025.
Echibeckia makes sense. I frequently find myself confusing the names of these two. Hope they grow well.
I planted one last summer. This year, it is HUGE, and is one of the most beautiful, showiest flowers I have ever seen!! I live just northwest of Milwaukee, WI, and it is thriving here!! I am very, very pleased.
Nice to know! Thanks
Wow, you’re in zone 5, then (I grew up north of Milwaukee). Glad to know it’s hardy in zone 5.
How are they holding up in Wisconsin?
It seems a bit pointless to me because rudbeckia reseed so easily here but they maybe a winner for colder climates. They’re definitely pretty. :o)
Very pretty and new to me. I may have to try a few:)
They look good – I wonder are they available in the UK.
Not sure, but they are worth seeking out.
They are available in the UK – I found them under the Rudbeckia ‘Summerina’ name. I grew them last year and loved them. However, they didn’t survive the winter and we didn’t go down as low as -10 🙁 Could be the fault of this gardener rather than the plant though.
I have some in my garden….at least it looks like it. It came from a seed mix…I think. Since the Rudbeckia don’t bloom the first year (from seed) I wasn’t 100% sure what I scattered in the area where I have these growing.
I love the colors. They should do well in the Pacific NW. I’ll look for them next visit to the nursery. Seems our nurseries carry very little other than the standard fair.
They look a lot like Gaillardia! Interesting combination.
Interesting! I hadn’t heard of these yet, maybe because I am in zone 5. I am surprised zone 6 is their upper limit, both coneflowers and echiniceas survive in zone 5 +
Okay, how have they done over time?
They come back every year!