What's eating my tennessee coneflower?

Tennessee Coneflower, a federally listed native, suffers most from Japanese beetles, which skeletonize foliage and petals in midsummer. Aphids cluster on stems, eriophyid mites distort flower cones, and rabbits browse flower heads readily. Deer pressure is also real in garden settings. Healthy, well-sited plants recover from most attacks.

Adults skeletonize leaves and chew flower petals, leaving lacy brown tissue; heavy infestations can defoliate the plant in days. Hand-pick adults into soapy water in early morning; neem oil spray as a repellent; avoid pheromone traps near the planting as they attract more beetles.

Soft colonies on stems and below flower heads cause sticky honeydew and sooty mold; rarely plant-threatening on healthy coneflowers. Water jet or insecticidal soap spray; ladybugs and parasitic wasps typically keep colonies in check without intervention.

Infected plants show distorted, stunted, or proliferated cone and petal tissue; flowers look abnormal and fail to develop correctly. Remove and destroy affected flower heads; do not compost; improve air circulation; no chemical control is reliably effective.

Flower stems and heads browsed at mid-height; young shoots cropped to ground level in spring and autumn. Wire mesh guards around individual plants or bed perimeters; apply rabbit repellent spray after rain; plant in groups — browsing pressure dilutes across a larger stand.