{"product_id":"echinacea-purpurea-alba-plants","title":"Echinacea Purpurea Alba","description":"\u003cul class=\"pdp-specs\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVariety:\u003c\/strong\u003e Purpurea Alba\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLatin name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Echinacea purpurea 'Alba'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eType:\u003c\/strong\u003e Herbaceous perennial\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlower:\u003c\/strong\u003e White, gently drooping rays around a green-gold cone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1m (3ft)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpread:\u003c\/strong\u003e 45cm (18in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlowering:\u003c\/strong\u003e July to September\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePosition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun, any soil with decent drainage, happy on chalk\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePruning:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cut the old stems down in spring, not autumn\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRHS AGM:\u003c\/strong\u003e No\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWildlife:\u003c\/strong\u003e On the same bee and butterfly beat as all single coneflowers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold as:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2L pot-grown plants\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlant outdoors:\u003c\/strong\u003e Year round\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDelivered:\u003c\/strong\u003e Year round. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/collect-your-order-from-castle-cary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCollection from Castle Cary\u003c\/a\u003e also available\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe tall white form of the purple coneflower: a metre of cool, late-summer light for the middle of the border.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eEchinacea Purpurea Alba: The Tall White Coneflower\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEchinacea Purpurea Alba is a white form of the purple coneflower, reaching about a metre, with softly drooping white rays around a cone that opens greenish-gold and ages to copper from July to September. Because this is straight \u003cem\u003eEchinacea purpurea\u003c\/em\u003e rather than a coloured hybrid, it's the dependable end of the genus: the species that shrugs off British winters the fancy ones sulk through, given sun and drainage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA word on the name, because honesty sells better than Latin. 'Alba' isn't a tightly defined cultivar; it's the gardener's name for the white purpurea type, so plants vary a little in height and poise. If you want a compact, perfectly uniform white, that's \u003ca href=\"\/products\/echinacea-white-swan-plants\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEchinacea White Swan\u003c\/a\u003e, which stops around knee height. Alba is the taller, looser, more naturalistic sister, and in a prairie-style planting that looseness is precisely the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGrow it hard. Poor-to-average soil, no feeding, and leave the stems standing through winter: the seedheads hold their shape in frost and goldfinches strip them through the cold months. In evening light the white flowers glow long after the rest of the border has gone grey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePlanting Companions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhite coneflowers earn their keep among grasses: Stipa or Panicum from our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/ornamental-grass-plants\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eornamental grasses\u003c\/a\u003e give the classic prairie backdrop that makes the white rays float. In front, the deep violet spikes of \u003ca href=\"\/products\/caradonna-salvia-plants\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSalvia Caradonna\u003c\/a\u003e are the sharpest contrast you can buy, and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/purpletop-vervain-plants-verbena-bonariensis\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePurpletop Vervain\u003c\/a\u003e threads through at eye level without blocking the view.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy buy from Ashridge?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOur 2L plants go out with roots that fill the pot, ready to establish before their first winter. We grow peat-free, we use biological pest controls rather than sprays, and our Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award comes from customer reviews, not a judging panel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat is the difference between Echinacea Alba and White Swan?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlba is taller, to about 1m, and looser in habit; White Swan is compact, around 60cm, and completely uniform. Choose Alba for naturalistic drifts and the back of a white border, White Swan for pots and tidy edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eDoes white Echinacea come back every year?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStraight Echinacea purpurea types like Alba are the longest-lived coneflowers in British gardens, returning for years in a sunny, drained spot. It's the coloured hybrids, not the whites, that tend to be short-lived here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhen should I cut back Echinacea?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn spring, once new growth shows at the base. Cutting in autumn exposes the crown to winter wet, which is the one thing coneflowers genuinely hate, and you'd lose the winter seedheads too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eDo deer or rabbits eat Echinacea?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRarely. The rough leaves and spiny cones are generally left alone, which makes coneflowers a sensible choice for rural gardens, though no plant is truly deer-proof when winters bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs this the herbal echinacea?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSame genus, same species even; the supplements are made mainly from Echinacea purpurea. Ours is an ornamental selection grown for the garden, so admire it rather than harvest it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCan I collect my Echinacea plants from your nursery?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Choose \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/collect-your-order-from-castle-cary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ecollection from Castle Cary\u003c\/a\u003e at checkout and pick your plants up from us in Somerset, with no delivery charge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Ashridge Nurseries","offers":[{"title":"Potted \/ 2L","offer_id":57171349078342,"sku":"PEREECHPURALBA-2L","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0947\/0351\/8022\/files\/white-echinacea-flowers.webp?v=1787305947","url":"https:\/\/www.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/products\/echinacea-purpurea-alba-plants","provider":"Ashridge Nurseries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}