Drooping Prairie-coneflower

Year-round

Gray-headed coneflower is a tall, easygoing prairie plant that takes full sun to part shade and a wide range of soils, and it is not on the ASPCA toxic plant list.

• Grows 3 to 5 feet tall in full sun to part shade, and handles sandy, clay, loam or calcareous soils.
• Once established it tolerates dry spells and poor soil well, so skip heavy watering and fertilizing.
• Hardy through USDA zones 3 to 8, which covers the cold winters around Minneapolis with room to spare.
• Rated as having special value to native bees by the Xerces Society, per Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
• Not on the ASPCA toxic plant list for dogs, cats or horses as of this search.
• Deer will browse the foliage, so expect some nibbling in yards with deer pressure.

Fall

Blooming winds down in fall and the seed heads darken and stand tall, drawing seed-eating birds through the season.

• Flowering tapers off by early fall as the seed heads darken and firm up on their tall stems.
• Goldfinches and other seed-eating birds visit the seed heads through fall.
• You can cut the spent stalks back now for a tidy look, or leave them standing into winter.
• Fall is a good time to collect seed from dried heads if you want to start more plants elsewhere.

Cutting the spent flower stalks back in fall gives the bed a clean, tended look through the cold months.

Winter

The plant goes fully dormant in winter and is hardy well past Minneapolis cold, no protection needed.

• Goes fully dormant with no green growth above ground once hard frost sets in.
• Leaving the seed heads standing through winter keeps feeding birds and adds some structure to an otherwise bare bed.
• For a tidier winter look, cut stems back to a few inches above ground in late fall or late winter instead.
• Hardy through USDA zone 3, so a Minneapolis winter needs no mulch or extra cold protection.

A cut-back bed reads as tended through winter, while leaving stems standing is a wildlife-friendly tradeoff worth weighing for a front yard.

Spring

Spring is cleanup and planting time, clear last year's stems before new shoots come up from the base.

• Cut away any dead stems left standing from last year before new growth starts, if you did not already do this in fall.
• New shoots come up from the base once the soil warms, no special coaxing needed.
• Water new transplants regularly for the first few weeks so roots can establish, established clumps do not need extra water.
• A good time to divide a crowded clump or start seed, this plant often blooms in its second year from seed.

Clearing out last year's dead stems in early spring keeps the bed looking tidy before new growth fills in.

Summer

Summer is peak bloom, with drooping yellow petals lasting from early into late summer and needing little water once established.

• Flowers open from early to late summer, with the yellow petals drooping down from a tall gray-brown cone.
• Established plants handle heat and short dry spells without extra watering, water only during extended drought.
• Deadhead spent blooms if you want a tidier look and fewer volunteer seedlings coming up next year.
• Stems can flop over in a group planting, so a spot near sturdier neighbors or shrubs helps keep it upright.

Deadheading spent blooms keeps the front bed looking neat and cuts down on volunteer seedlings popping up nearby next year.