Echinacea 'Skipper Yellow'
A cheerful, compact perennial perfect for containers, borders, and pollinator planting
Overview
Echinacea 'Skipper Yellow' is a compact and sunny variety of coneflower, specially bred to deliver bright colour and robust garden performance in a smaller size. Its golden yellow blooms and tidy growth habit make it ideal for gardeners with limited space or for those looking to brighten up a border, patio, or wildlife-friendly area. Long-flowering and low-maintenance, it offers a burst of late summer colour and is a favourite among bees and butterflies.
Key Features
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Botanical name: Echinacea ‘Skipper Yellow’
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Common name: Coneflower
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Plant type: Herbaceous perennial
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Height: 45cm (1.5ft)
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Spread: 45cm (1.5ft)
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Flowering Time: Midsummer through to early autumn (July to September)
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Position: Prefers full sun but can tolerate light shade
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Soil: Well-drained, fertile soil; thrives in loamy or sandy conditions
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Hardiness: Hardy in the UK down to temperatures of -10 to -15 degrees Celcius (RHS hardiness rating H5)
Flowers and Foliage
The standout feature of 'Skipper Yellow' is its radiant, lemon-yellow petals surrounding a prominent golden-brown cone. The flowers are held on short, sturdy stems that won’t flop, even in windy weather, and appear in abundance throughout the summer. The foliage is neat and mid-green, forming a compact, clump-forming base that keeps its shape well. Its tidy habit and extended flowering season make it an excellent choice for bringing continuous colour to small spaces.
Garden Uses
Perfect for pots, raised beds, small borders, and wildlife gardens, 'Skipper Yellow' adds a pop of bright colour wherever it’s planted. It works especially well at the front of sunny borders or mixed with other compact perennials such as coreopsis, dwarf salvia, or ornamental grasses. Its manageable size also makes it an excellent choice for patio containers or balcony gardens.
Wildlife Benefits
As with all echinaceas, 'Skipper Yellow' is rich in nectar and highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. The prominent cone also provides a valuable food source for birds later in the season if seed heads are left in place.
Care and Maintenance
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Watering: Water regularly while establishing; once mature, it’s drought-tolerant
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Potted: Can grown in pots can be planted at any time of the year providing the ground is not frozen or waterlogged.
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Deadheading: Remove faded blooms to encourage continued flowering, or leave seed heads for winter interest
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Feeding: Feed with a balanced fertiliser in spring for strong growth and flowering
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Dividing: Divide every 3–4 years in spring or autumn to maintain plant health
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Pruning: Deadhead to extend flowering
Summary
Echinacea 'Skipper Yellow' is a bright and reliable choice for gardeners wanting compact, easy-care plants that support pollinators and provide long-lasting summer colour. Whether in a container or tucked into a sunny border, its cheerful blooms, tidy shape, and wildlife value make it a standout addition to any garden.
Buying Perennials from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we lightly trim back our perennials after flowering and trim them back at the end of the season to ensure that the plants remain neat and tidy whilst in the pot. The more tender the plant the less we cut back to help protect exposed stems from winter frost. Depending on the plant variety we will then prune back further in spring once the risk of the more severe frosts is over.
As a result, depending on the time of year you buy perennials, they may not look like images showing their ‘prime time’ in flower and looking at their best.
From late autumn onwards and dependent on variety, there may be very little visible above the soil except for a few cut back dormant leaves or stems. It is perfectly normal for dormant plants to look like this from autumn onwards, they will however burst back into life in spring.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
Perennials are described and classified differently by different gardeners but all would agree that they are plants that come into flower every year from early spring to late summer, the exact time dependent on variety and most die back to ground level in autumn and winter.
As for all plants, soil preparation is time well spent. Dig over the area to be planted ensuring that the ground is free draining. If not then you may wish to either consider planting in a different spot or raising the level of the planting area by adding additional topsoil, well rotted garden compost and/or well rotted manure. Add ‘Fish, Blood and Bone’ fertiliser or a high potash fertiliser to encourage good root growth and development.
It’s always a good idea to plant a few of the same plant together, we recommend planting in 3’s or 5’s to provide a bold effect but allowing them plenty of room to develop.
Always check eventual plant heights when planning borders to ensure that the taller plants are at the back (or at the centre of an island bed) followed by the medium and then smaller low growing plants.
Remember to deadhead perennials after flowering, trim back lightly in autumn as required to tidy the border and if necessary trim again in spring once the risk of heavy frost has passed.
If perennials get too big, start to flower less and less or if it seems to be dying off from the centre, consider dividing the plant but always check that the particular variety is happy to be divided and that you divide at the right time of year for the plant.
By using this simple guide and a little time, perennials can make an absolutely spectacular difference to your garden.