KISMET Red Coneflower

Echinacea × hybrida 'KISMET Red'

Asteraceae

• Sun: Full sun
• Mature Size: 16–18" tall x 24" wide
• Drought Tolerance: High once established
• Habit: Herbaceous perennial, compact, upright, dense to the ground
• Flower Color / Bloom Time: Vivid red with a dark cone; early summer through frost
• Wildlife Benefits: Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds; finches and other birds feed on seed heads left standing through winter

KISMET Red is a modern breeding-program hybrid combining Echinacea purpurea with two other North American Echinacea species (E. paradoxa and E. tennesseensis), bred for compact habit and extended bloom rather than for regional origin. It thrives in full sun and average, dry-to-medium, well-drained soil, and tolerates heat, humidity, and poor soils once established; avoid overly wet sites, as it is prone to leaf spot and crown rot if kept too moist.

A dwarf, uniform habit produces an abundance of large, three- to four-inch daisy-like flowers in an intense, saturated red with a dark central cone, blooming continuously from early summer to the first hard frost — each individual bloom lasting for weeks.

A strong pollinator plant, drawing bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds over its long bloom season; leaving the blackened seed heads standing through fall and winter provides food for finches and other seed-eating birds.

Well suited to sunny borders, small gardens, prairie-style plantings, and containers, where its compact size and long bloom window make it a reliable focal color. Pairs well with ornamental grasses, Rudbeckia, and other sun perennials in bloom at the same time.