How to Plant and Grow Mexican Hat Flowers

If you’re looking for a drought-tolerant perennial with a slightly quirky vibe, meet your new favorite prairie native – Mexican hat!

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With its striking and unusual flowers, this North American species brings bright splashes of color to the landscape, but needs little to no upkeep in return.

And it’s a favorite of birds, bees, and butterflies!

Ready to find out if it’s going to be one of your favorites too? We’re going to cover everything you’ll need to know to grow this resilient perennial.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Just to make sure we’re on the same page before we get started, in this article we’re talking about a flowering perennial, and not the succulent Kalanchoe daigremontiana, which is also sometimes called Mexican hat.

Mexican hat, referred to in scientific circles as Ratibida columnifera,is a type of prairie coneflower known for its conspicuous blooms.

The one- to two-inch flowers have droopy yellow, yellow and red, or reddish brown petals.

But it’s the cones of the flowers that are distinctive – they are elongated, rising up to two inches above the petals, creating a sombrero-like shape that gives this wildflower its common name, Mexican hat.

The plant’s unusual blooms are produced over a duration of three to four months, from late spring into autumn, depending on the location.

In fall, the cones turn brown as the seeds ripen.

Flower stalks are tall and leafless, emerging from a mound of wispy green foliage made up of finely divided, alternate leaves.

Plants have an upright, clumping form, growing to be one to three feet tall, with a spread of