Illustration
Gray-Headed Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
Also called drooping coneflower and pinnate prairie coneflower
Gray-Headed Coneflower blooms from June through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Gray-Headed Coneflower
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 4 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Gray-Headed Coneflower. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Gray-Headed Coneflower
Plant Gray-Headed Coneflower in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8, spring means April to June and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from June to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Gray-Headed Coneflower get?
4 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Gray-Headed Coneflower in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Gray-Headed Coneflower
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Gray-Headed Coneflower about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Gray-Headed Coneflower to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Gray-Headed Coneflower's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 9 published sources on October 19, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Prairie Moon Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, sun, water and bloom months and color
- Chicago Botanic Gardenhardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreachheight, hardiness zones and bloom months and color
- Missouri Department of Conservationheight and bloom months and color
- uipress.lib.uiowa.eduUniversity of Iowa, Prairie Plants of Iowaheight and bloom months and color
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreachheight and spread
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 24 states and 1 province
United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and 12 more
Canada: Ontario
Recorded growing wild in 594 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
1 more variety in the Prairie Coneflower group
Same genus, similar care - pick the one you are growing.
Across the group, bloom runs from June through September: Gray-Headed Coneflower opens first (June) and Mexican Hat is the last to finish (September).
Compare every variety in the Prairie Coneflower group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray-Headedthis page | Yellow | Jun–Aug | Zones 3–8 | Full sun | 4 ft × 1.5 ft |
| Mexican Hat | Yellow | Jun–Sep | Zones 4–9 | Full sun | 2.5 ft × 1.5 ft |
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.