Paradiso Tall Mix Echinacea is a first-year flowering hybrid coneflower that delivers a vibrant spectrum of colors in a single sowing. Hardy from zones 3 to 10, this open-pollinated cultivar reaches its full potential in 135 to 165 days, rewarding patient gardeners with tall stems topped by blooms that transition from expanding petals to golden raised centers. It's bred specifically for cutting, with flowers that hold their color and structure in the vase while developing dramatic dried cones over time.
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3-10
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High
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This tall hybrid explodes into color within a single season, offering gardeners the rare gift of a perennial that performs as an annual. The wide color range means every plant brings its own personality to the garden, making it nearly impossible to predict what you'll harvest. Both the fresh flowers and dried cones have distinct harvest windows and uses, extending the value of each bloom from fresh bouquets through winter arrangements.
Paradiso Tall Mix excels as a cut flower for fresh arrangements, with blooms harvested at the moment petals begin expanding to capture the full range of colors. The distinctive golden raised cones that develop after petals are removed become prized for dried flower work, offering texture and architectural presence in autumn and winter displays. Gardeners working with dried flower design often harvest the cones separately once fully colored, creating two distinct products from a single planting.
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Sow seed indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your planned outdoor transplant date. After the first true leaves appear (roughly 30 to 40 days after sowing), transplant seedlings into cell packs or larger containers to develop strong root systems. Harden off transplants by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days before moving them out permanently.
Move hardened-off transplants outside in late spring or early summer, after frost danger has passed. Space plants 18 inches apart to allow adequate air circulation and room for the tall growth habit to develop. Ensure transplants are established in their planting holes with soil firmed gently around the base.
For fresh cut flowers, harvest when petals are actively expanding but before they fully flatten, capturing the full color range the variety offers. If your goal is dried cones, wait until the center cone is raised and turns golden in color before harvesting the entire stem. After harvesting for fresh use, you can remove the petals and hang the remaining cones to dry for winter arrangements, or harvest cones separately at peak color development.
Deadhead spent flowers regularly throughout the blooming season to encourage continuous flowering and channel energy into producing new buds. For plants you're saving for dried cones, stop deadheading in late summer to allow flowers to mature fully and develop the raised golden centers that define the dried product. Cut stems at the base when harvesting for fresh arrangements, which also stimulates branching and additional bloom production on remaining stems.
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