A member of the Aster family Echinacea is an incredible pollinator plant, a seed source for gold finches. It is remarkably tough and drought tolerant, while flowering from June through to September, each plant producing many flowers. This native perennial will come back every year and multiply with large showy flowers that bloom extensively. Leaving seed heads on the plant maxamizes availability to birds feeding them for as long as they last. Best to not dead head as it would reduce their ecological contribution.