There is a little bit of irony in the history of Echinacea. For one thing, it took Europeans to exploit the star potential of this North American native flower. The Germans began to make improvements on the species Echinacea purpurea in the 1960's. The flower's popularity continued to grow on through the 80's and the 90's. Then in 1989, Echinacea purpurea 'Mangus' was named Perennial Plant of the Year from the Perennial Plant Association and Echinacea became even more fashionable. Excitement...
