Purple Coneflower

Purple coneflower is a naturally leggy plant. The height can vary greatly depending on the soil. Clay soil does tend to make it grow taller.  It is not recommended to cut coneflowers back early in the season to create a lower flower height. That technique doesn't work well with the coneflowers. But here's what you can do: First, you'll want too encourage a bushier, multistem plant by cutting the plant all the way back in the fall. (This does eliminate the seed heads for the birds, but it doesn't need to be done every year.) The cutting back to the ground encourages multiple stems to grow from the basal rosette. Then, once you have a multiple stem plant, you can prune the plant to create its own support. Do this by cutting the outer ring of stems back halfway early in the season. The shorter stems will be stiffer, supporting the taller potentially floppy center stems. The other way to keep Purple coneflower from flopping is by companion planting. Plant it with other plants that are similar in height but have a rigid–bushy form that will help support the coneflowers. This is a lower maintanence, communinity planting approach. Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), Short toothed Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida), and Little Bluestem grass, are a few that will look good with Purple Coneflower and help to create an upright combination. Plants with different shapes will better support and compliment each other in a group. Coneflower has a large basal tuft with a single stem. Avoid combining coneflower with other plants that have the same shape/form as the coneflower.