Echinacea purpurea ‘Blueberry Petticoats’

In 2005 I sent a bud from a double pink coneflower named ‘Raspberry Petticoats’ to Terra Nova. The deal fell through when they patented their own 2.5 years later, but I’m excited to announce the latest one: ‘Blueberry Petticoats’! I believe this is the first blue coneflower!

By splicing the gene for delphinidin into a coneflower and suppressing the anthocyanins responsible for pink coloration, we were able to create this incredible flower.

Unfortunately, solar radiation exposes some anthocyanins that haven’t been fully suppressed near the flower centers and as the flowers senesce, but we expect to overcome this in future generations.

We hope you enjoy your 1st day of April!