Rudbeckia Bravado
Rudbeckia Bravado
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Rudbeckia (Echinacea) 'Bravado' Seeds
While wild Echinacea can sometimes look a little droopy, 'Bravado' stands tall and proud. This improved variety was bred specifically for its massive, 4-5 inch blooms. The rosy-purple petals hold themselves flat (rather than sweeping backwards), creating a wide, open daisy shape that creates maximum impact in the border.
Each flower is centred with a magnificent coppery-orange cone that glows in the evening light. Standing on strong, sturdy stems that rarely need staking, 'Bravado' is a reliable, hardy perennial that will return year after year, providing a feast for pollinators in summer and seeds for birds in winter.
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🌿 Understanding the Plant
Echinacea is a robust Hardy Perennial.
It dies back to the ground in winter and re-emerges late in the spring.
The Long Game: Grown from seed, Echinacea is an investment. It will focus on making roots in its first year (producing just a few flowers) but will erupt into a large, multi-stemmed clump in Year 2 and beyond.
Top Tip: Be patient in spring! Echinacea is a late riser. It often doesn't show green shoots until May, so don't assume it has died and dig it up by mistake!
🌱 Growing Guide: How to Sow and Grow
Echinacea seeds can be erratic, but a little cold helps them wake up.
Germination:
Sow indoors from February to April. Surface sow onto moist compost and cover very lightly with vermiculite (they need some light). Keep warm (20-24°C). If they haven't sprouted after 3 weeks, put the damp tray in the fridge for 2 weeks (cold stratification) to simulate winter, then bring them back into the warmth.
Where to Sow:
They demand full sun. They love deep, well-drained soil. They are drought tolerant once established but hate sitting in cold, wet clay in winter.
Care While Growing:
Slug Alert: Slugs love the young leaves in spring. Protect them until the foliage toughens up. Leave the seed heads on in autumn—they look beautiful frosted and provide food for goldfinches.
📋 Plant Specifications
| Latin Name | Echinacea purpurea |
| Common Name | Purple Coneflower 'Bravado' |
| Hardiness | H5 (Hardy Perennial) |
| Light Required | Full Sun ☀️ |
| Height | ↕️ 90cm - 120cm (Tall) |
| Spread | ↔️ 45cm |
| Spacing | 🌱 45cm apart |
| Great for | 🦋 Butterflies & Bees ✂️ Cut Flowers 🌾 Prairie Planting 🐦 Winter Birds |
| Seed Count | Approx. 30 seeds per packet |
🤝 Perfect Garden Companions
The pink-purple of 'Bravado' looks incredible with silvers and oranges:
- 🌾 Hordeum jubatum (Foxtail Barley): The Prairie Look. The soft, pinkish-silver plumes of the barley grass pick up the rosy tones of the Echinacea petals. The movement of the grass softens the rigid stems of the coneflower.
- 🔥 Rudbeckia 'Marmalade': The Cousins. Planting pink Echinacea next to golden-orange Rudbeckia creates a warm, vibrant, late-summer display that is unbeatable for attracting pollinators.
📅 Sowing & Flowering Calendar
Sow indoors in spring. Plants establish in Year 1 and flower fully from Year 2 onwards.
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow Indoors | 🟢 | 🟢 | 🟢 | |||||||||
| Flowers (Yr 2+) | 🌸 | 🌸 | 🌸 | 🌸 |
🏆 Officially Recognised Excellence
This is a wildlife superstar. Echinacea purpurea is listed on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list and is a favourite of Red Admirals and Painted Ladies.
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