Mexican Hat Plants: A Gorgeous Plant You Need In Your Garden This Summer And How To Care For It

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Classic flowers like daisies and marigolds are charming and found in many a garden, but more unusual flowers like Mexican Hat plants can be even more enchanting. These eye-catching perennials can add interest to your landscaping this summer and they aren't hard to care for. And like so many other plants it goes by more than one name – its other monikers include Prairie Coneflower, Red-Spike Mexican Hat, and Thimbleflower. Its biological name is Ratibida columnifera and it belongs to the Aster family.

Mexican Hat plants are easy to care for and particularly well-suited for summer gardens because they are drought-tolerant and love the sun. The ornamental, brightly-colored flowers attract bees, birds, and butterflies and can last from the late spring until the early autumn. And since the stalks can be a few feet high, gardens benefit from the added height that balances out lower-growing flowers. Mexican Hat plants add interest to garden borders and cottage gardens, but can also be grown as wildflowers. They can also be raised indoors as potted plants, but why keep them out of the spotlight? You need this gorgeous plant in your garden this summer, and the payback is huge for the small amount of time and effort it requires.

Mexican Hat plants are most often grown from seeds. These can be ordered online and so can the plants. They are sometimes found at brick-and-mortar garden centers and home stores like Lowe's and Home Depot too, but it makes sense to call first and check since the selections change so often. It's also possible to find a packet of 2000 seeds at Walmart for just a few bucks, and High Country Gardens has offered potted Mexican Hat plants for less than $10.

Before shopping for these plants, be aware of another plant that goes by the same name. This is the hard-to-pronounce Bryophyllum daigremontianum, a succulent with a completely different profile. It also goes by several other names: Mother of Thousands, Alligator Plant, and Devil's Backbone. That plant doesn't have sombrero-like flowers, so it's wise to ask when calling around to find Mexican Hat Plants. But to make things a little less complicated, Ratibida columnifera only has one variety that's called Red Midget. For these purposes, the Mexican Hat plants referred to here will be the perennials with those lovely flowers.

Like other flowering plants, Ratibida columnifera prefers locations that get full sun with an optimum temperature of 65 to 75 degrees F. But when it is consistently 90+ degrees out, the blooms usually wilt. These plants aren't that picky about the soil, though, as long as it's well-draining. Mexican Hat plants can thrive in calcareous soils as well as ones that contain clay and limestone but well-drained, sandy loam is best.

The optimum pH for Mexican Hat plants is 6.8 to 7.2. To put that into perspective, soil pH values generally range from 3.5 to 10 so this plant fits right in the middle, with neutral soils. If there is uncertainty about the soil's pH, a testing kit can be used. Other than that, these plants tend to be assertive and can take over garden space. They can nudge out weaker species, so give them plenty of room to spread out.

It takes approximately three to four weeks for Mexican Hat plant seedlings to grow from seeds indoors. To do this, use seedling trays or pots and cover the seeds with a bit of soil. Then, place them in a sunny location and keep the soil moist. Once a few leaves appear, thin the seedlings out so there is one per pot. Once they have readjusted, they can be transferred outdoors in their pots to harden them off. Leave the plants outdoors for a short period of time initially and increase that over a few days until they are strong enough to be transplanted.

To plant container-grown perennials like these, dig out a hole that's twice as wide as the container and somewhat deeper. Lower the seedling into the hole, and refill it with soil amended with some compost. Newly planted Ratibida columnifera will appreciate a good watering but take care not to overdo it

These hardy perennials usually don't need fertilizer since they adapt so well to many kinds of soil. Still, some gardeners may have better results with soil amendments, particularly when the pH falls outside the recommended range. Established Mexican Hat plants that are getting too much nitrogen might have fewer flowers and more green leaves, and fertilizers with higher concentrations of phosphorous might help these plants produce larger quantities of brightly-colored mini sombreros.

The best time to add fertilizer is early in the growing season to give the growth enough time to harden off before the end of the season. Slow-release perennial fertilizers need only be used once, but water-soluble ones generally go in every two weeks. Read the labels for specific instructions with store-bought fertilizers to make sure. To apply granulated fertilizer, sprinkle it into the ground and work it in gently with your hands or a small rake, and avoid getting it on the plants. Water the area, rinsing off any granules that got onto the foliage.

Mexican Hat plants are not prone to most of the diseases that other plants can succumb to, and the foliage has a smell that deer tend to avoid. Other than mildew growth that could occur from overgrowth, the only other remarkable disease is too much moisture in the soil which could lead to root rot. Keep the soil moist but not soggy to prevent the latter.

Coneflowers like Mexican Hat plants can be infested by some insects, but these are not major problems. Japanese beetles are sometimes attracted to them and will munch away at the flower petals. This won't damage the plants but the holes aren't pleasant to look at. Japanese beetle traps can work, and the insects can be plucked off by hand, too. Eryophyid mites also cause cosmetic damage to coneflowers, causing deformed growth. These little invaders can also be picked or flicked off.