University
of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science
University
of Vermont Extension 
Echinacea
purpurea 'Kim's Knee High'
(eh-kin-aa' cee-ah purr-purr' ee-ah)
Common name: Kim's Knee High Purple Coneflower
Family: Asteraceae, Aster
Height x width: 15-18" tall x 2-3' wide
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: attractive dark green, alternate, simple, often clasp the stem
Flowers: profuse purple to white, slightly reflexed petals surrounding brownish cone
Hardiness: zones 3-9
Soil: most, well-drained best
Light: sun
Pests and problems: fungal leaf spots, virus, mites, aphids, thrips
Landscape habit, uses: borders, native meadows, butterfly gardens, massed, small gardens, containers
Other interest: very attractive to butterflies, genus name from prickly lower stem resembling a hedgehog (Latin echinos), genus popular for medicinal use from vitamin C supplement to colds to other attributed uses, good cut or dried flower (cone); this cultivar selected by Kim Hawkes, Niche Gardens, NC and released in 1999; the first truly dwarf coneflower; named by and after the developer, coming as high as her knee, also named while drinking Nehi soda
Other culture: readily self sows
Propagation: originally by root division, now commercially by tissue culture
Sources: Niche Gardens, Chapel Hill, NC; wholesale limited quantities in 1999 from Walters Gardens, MI and Sunny Border Nurseries, CT
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