What has happened to my Echinacea

This is as far as I know a normal regular Echinacea but something has changed it. The majority of the blooms look like this. Does anyone have any ideas? This seems to be the only clump affected

 

it's a disease called aster yellows. it's tranmitted by leaf hoppers.

best thing to do is remove that clump and discard it in your trash (NOT your compost pile).

i didn't know that when it first showed up in my echinacea - so, it spread a bit before i knew what it was or how to deal with it.

the organism that causes it affects quite a number of plants - asters, coneflower, zinnia, marigold, mums. some edibles are also susceptible - carrots, lettuce, tomato, celery. it's thought that some broad-leaf weeds (dandelion, plantain, etc) can also harbor the organism.

remove the affected plants as soon as you can. i'd also remove the top layer of soil around the area, too, just as an extra precaution.

 

Thanks alot. I have removed the one affected clump and a couple of surrounding ones. I kinda have alot of echinacea.

 

lol, yeah, i kinda do, too!! i've given away at least as much as i still have! so, even with having to pull some due to this disease, things will be back in order next year with no problem!! :) it's a great plant!!