"Micah J. Mabelitini" wrote in message
...
Pam - gardengal wrote:

"Micah J. Mabelitini" wrote in message
...
animaux wrote:

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 22:36:15 -0800, "gregpresley"
opined:


"Ann" wrote in message
.. .
(Enuf) expounded:

I have a large established bed of purple cone flowers. I
recently
purchased some red and some white cone flowers also. I was told
that
these colors come from hybrid plants, so my question is: Will
they
cross polinate or will they retain their true colors? Anyone
have
any
experience with this?

I've yet to see a white variety of the coneflower that floats my
boat.
They
tend to be a muddy, tannish white, rather than a clear bright
white. I
agree
with the poster who suggests a shasta daisy or some other white
daisy
if you
want that color in a particular area of the garden. However, if
you're
growing them particularly for the shape of the flower and using it
in
arrangements or something, I guess that's different.


My 'White Swan' are a clear, bright white.

Do you live in the deep south or southwest? I would expect the albinos
to appear more white in hotter climates. Also, 'White Swan' tends to
be
more white than 'Alba' and some of the others.

Micah Mabelitini

I'd agree with Vic - my 'White Swan' is a true bright white, bloomed all
summer and is quite vigorous. And I certainly do not live in a hot
climate.
Personally, I find the purple and pink forms rather insipid - very
washed
out in tone.

pam - gardengal

Color interpretation is a highly subjective thing. I have personally
never seen an albino example of E. purpurea that can match say, a shasta
daisy as far as whiteness goes (not that I care much for shasta
daisies...I greatly prefer a white coneflower). E. purpurea is a highly
variable plant regarding ligule color...temperature, soil conditions and
precipitation all affect ligule development. There is also a good bit of
color variability among the different albino cultivars. 'White Swan' is
one of the whiter ones. The somewhat less common 'Alba' on the other
hand, is more of a pale yellow-green color (probably the reason it's
less common). As far as the purple types being insipid, most do have
that washed out appearance, though some cultivars like 'Ruby Star' are
much improved in that regard. As far as plant vigor, the albino
cultivars are undeniably less vigorous than the common purple varieties
as a whole (you would be hard-pressed to find an authoritative source
that states otherwise), though they still do pretty good. Wild E.
purpurea is a *very* vigorous plant.

Micah Mabelitini
I'm in zone 3 and I've noticed that over the past 4 yrs my White swan gets
whiter and whiter. It used to be more yellowish now very white. Some of the
smaller flowers that develop later int he year are more yellowish - but the
big ones are definitely white.

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