Purple coneflower 'Magnus' in November: monthly care

Echinacea 'Magnus' benefits from light pruning at two points in the year: March and November. The approach differs depending on the season and your garden priorities. In November, after flowering has finished and the first frosts have blackened the foliage, you can cut back the spent stems to around 10 cm above ground level. However, many gardeners prefer to leave the seed heads standing through winter. The dried cones provide food for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds, and the architectural skeletons look attractive rimmed with frost. If you choose to leave them, defer cutting back until March. In March, before new growth emerges in earnest, cut back any remaining dead stems to just above the crown. Use clean, sharp secateurs to make neat cuts. Remove all the previous year's growth but take care not to damage the new shoots, which will be visible as small green rosettes at the base. This is also the time to tidy up any winter damage and clear away dead leaves or debris around the crown, which can harbour slugs and disease. Deadheading during the flowering season—from mid-summer into late summer—is optional. Removing spent blooms as they fade encourages a few more flowers and keeps the plant looking tidy, but it's not essential for the health of 'Magnus'. If you want to balance wildlife value with a longer display, deadhead some stems and leave others to set seed. Echinaceas do not require the hard pruning or shaping needed by shrubs; a simple annual cut-back is all that's necessary.