Echinacea ‘Hot Summer’

‘Hot Summer’ is an upright coneflower whose flowers (each to 4 1/2″ diameter) change color as they age. Downward-arching ray flowers open yellow-orange but gradually mature to orange and finally deep red, resulting in an often large number of different flower colors appearing on the same plant at the same time. ‘Hot Summer’ typically grows in a clump to 30-36″ tall and to 16″ wide on sturdy, well-branched stems that do not need staking. Flowers bloom from late spring to late summer, sometimes with additional sporadic bloom until frost. Flowers are fragrant.