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The Mexican Hatflower (Ratibida columnifera), or prairie coneflower, is a pretty, ornamental wildflower species with drooping, mahogany-red flowers that are tinged with yellow at the edges and form long, distinctive cylindrical disks in the center. The Mexican Hatflower is drought-tolerant, grows best in hot and dry regions, requires full sun and neutral or alkaline soil. The flowers resemble a Mexican sombrero and originally grow in Mexico, which inspired their common name. Note that a Mexican hat is now often viewed as a negative, sometimes harmful stereotype and a form of cultural appropriation.
Here are the key care requirements for growing a Mexican Hatflower:
Plant a Mexican Hatflower in fall or spring to get lush blooms in summer and fall.
Grow this clump-forming perennial in groups in a meadow, cottage or wildflower garden, or at the back edge of sunny gardens.
Choose a full sun location, although the plant will tolerate light shade.
Do not plant the Mexican Hatflower in moisture-rich or heavy clay soil. Only add a small amount of compost to poor quality soil.
Water the plant thoroughly and infrequently.
As a native Mexican plant, the Ratibida columnifera thrives in full sun. It tolerates light shade, but the more sun this plant gets, the more lush and longer the blooming season will be.
The Mexican Hatflower can adapt to a wide range of soil types. It can even thrive when the soil is dry and nutrient-poor. However, it cannot cope with moisture-rich or heavy clay soil. If the soil is exceptionally moist and fertile, the plant could be smothered by larger, more aggressive species.
One of the outstanding qualities of the Mexican Hat Flower is its drought tolerance once it is established, even in the hottest and driest regions. However, if you want to experience the most impressive and long-lasting blooms in summer, you should water these plants thoroughly infrequently. It can also be helpful to use mulch, especially in dry and hot regions, to retain moisture. In winter and spring, additional watering is only needed occasionally during dry seasons.
These plants thrive in hot and dry regions. However, too much moisture, rainfall or cold temperatures are problematic.
Mexican Hat Flowers can also thrive in nutrient-poor soil, so they generally do not need additional fertilizer. However, it is sometimes recommended to add a small amount of compost when planting the Ratibida columnifera, but only if the soil is of poor quality.
The only notable variety is Mexican Hatflower ‘Red Midget,’ a compact, upright perennial with hairy, gray-green leaves and slender, branching stems that bear daisy-like, dark red flowers.
If you don’t want your plants to reseed themselves, you can mow them down after they bloom. Most enthusiasts allow some seed heads to mature and instead cut them back in early spring to help the plants naturalize. The matured seeds are a good food source for wild birds during the winter.
The best way to divide Mexican Hatflower plants is every few years in the spring to freshen them up and maintain their bright color. To do this, dig up a clump of plants to remove the root ball. Divide the root ball carefully and plant the root balls at least 12 inches apart to give them room to grow and water them to help them establish themselves.
This plant is also easy to propagate from seed if you want to save yourself the work of dividing the root balls. A single seed head will produce hundreds of tiny seeds. If you don’t plant them directly in the soil in the fall, the stored seeds may benefit from cold, dry stratification in winter storage before planting them in the spring. Follow these steps when planting the seeds in your chosen season:
Scatter the tiny seeds on the soil and then rake the area lightly. Do not bury the seeds deeply in the soil as they require light.
Cover the area with a very fine layer of vermiculite to prevent these light and tiny seeds from blowing away, aBut cover them as little as possible so that light can reach them for germination.
Make sure the seed has good contact with the soil by lightly raking it into loose topsoil.
Water the area regularly until the Mexican Hat Flower is established.
Mexican hat flowers look great as potted plants in any warm, well-lit indoor space. However, when kept in containers indoors, the plants will need to be repotted occasionally. These plants grow quickly and may outgrow their pots in a few months. To avoid stressing your plants too much, repot them in early spring before their active growing season. When repotting them, repot them into containers one size larger than their current ones.
Ratibida columnifera is mostly pest and disease free, but not immune. You may spot Japanese beetles and aphids on the plants. Hand-pick the beetles from the plants if the infestation is small, spray neem oil if there are more than you can count, or better control the beetles by treating the soil with milky spore powder. Spray the aphids off with the garden hose.
Mexican hat flowers don’t like wet feet and will get root rot as a result. Allow the flowers to dry out to reduce the problem.
How to Get Mexican Hat Flower to Bloom
Mexican hat flowers don’t bloom until their second year. When they do bloom, look for blooms between May and October, especially if it’s been a rainy season.
These ornamental flowers are popular as cut flowers thanks to their unusual deep red petals and towering central cones. The flowers aren’t fragrant, but the foliage has a distinct smell that deters deer.
Once the plant blooms, you can extend the blooming season by removing the spent flowers in summer. The flowers will also bloom longer if there is enough moisture.
These wildflowers rarely cause problems. But here are a few things to look out for when growing Mexican Hat Flower.
Overwatered plants like Mexican Hat Flower can wilt. You can also tell if the flowers have been overwatered if the stems are mushy, indicating root rot. You can try drying out the plants or applying a copper fungicide, which may have some effect.
Mexican hat flowers with skeletonized or holey leaves are the work of Japanese beetles. These insects are hard to miss, as they have a coppery black body with a metallic blue-green head.