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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Also Featured in Growing Trends, January, 2002Echinacea purpurea Twist of Fate™The Twisty, Curly Purple Coneflower Spins into Production...
Fall, 2001 -- In an agreement dated September 27, 2001 between Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. of Tigard, OR and Horticulturist Robert F. Gabella, plants of Echinacea purpurea Twist of Fate™ have now been sent to Terra Nova for the initial stages of testing prior to commercial tissue culture production (micropropragation, or cloning). A critical first step to the process is virus indexing, which will assure that clean stock is present throughout the production process, and that commercial growers and home gardeners receive the finest plants possible. "I am very excited about this initial first step," Gabella states. Twist of Fate™ was discovered among a group of second-generation seedlings from an original stand of Echinacea purpurea seedlings Gabella raised in his garden years ago. A number of the second-generation seedlings exhibited varying degrees of quilling and twisting of the ray florets (what most people call petals), but one plant in particular showed a uniformity and synchronicity to the twisting which set it apart from all the others. In addition, the rays clasp the stem rather than spreading outwards in typical daisy fashion. A bushy, prolific plant which begins to bloom about 10 - 14 days later than E. p. Magnus (starting in late July), it has more graceful foliage and a less stiff plant habit, and matures at about 30" in full bloom. A massed planting of these twisty, curly flowers is a delight! Attractive to butterflies and bumblebees alike, the mature seed heads, like all purple coneflowers, hold a special magnetism for goldfinches, which on balmy late summer mornings can be seen visiting the planting in droves. However, for best year-to-year plant vigor, and to prevent undesirable re-seeding into the beds (the plants do not come uniformly true from seed), Gabella suggests that the flower heads be removed before the seeds mature. The color is a clean lavender pink, lighter upon opening -- when the blossoms look almost "normal"-- which deepens slightly as the rays continue to twist, and then blends to a pale chartreuse and lavender polychrome as the fully twisted flowers age. The foliage is a healthy dark green. For More Information Contact: Our mailing, phone and email lists are not for sale or
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Copyright © 2002-2009 Robert F. GabellaLast Updated 6/07/2009 |
