First, if you just got it in April, I'm not surprised it didn't grow much. Rule of thumb for perennials is this: the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap...give it some time to get established. Second, I'm not sure I'd try to grow an echinacea in a pot. If the pot's not big enough, there won't be enough room for its roots to spread out. Yellowing leaves usually means the roots aren't getting enough air - it's common to see it with plants that are getting too much water - the roots don't get enough of a chance to breathe and the leaves turn yellow, which would make sense if yours is in a pot that isn't allowing the roots enough space. And, I'm not sure what zone you're in - if "nyc" means New York City, then you've got a cold winter ahead of you and those roots are going to need more insulation than they will get in that pot (and it won't do well if you try to bring it inside). I would pull it out of the pot and see if the roots are indeed filling up the pot. Watch how much you water it. And if it's at all possible, find a sunny spot and plant it in the ground. At a minimum, get it into a much bigger pot and wrap a blanket around it for the winter. These are native plants, they grow in almost any kind of soil, they're pretty hard to kill, and they're not at all fussy. They do have the same basic needs that all plants have, though - enough, but not too much moisture, and room to spread their roots.

Here is what I would do: * Unpot the plant(s). * Melt a drain hole through the bottom of the pot at the sidewall. * Place a plastic or clay pot upside down in the bottom of the pot the plant is in. There should be at least 1/2" between the rim of the overturned pot and the inside of the sidewall. Cover the drainhole(s) in the overturned pot with insect screen or a piece of plastic. The cover is only to stop soil from falling through the drain holes. (See D below for a sense of how much excess water this simple trick will eliminate) * Insert a wick through the hole in the bottom of the pot. If you wish, you can melt a second hole through the bottom opposite the first; then, a single wick can be used. I use 100% rayon mop strands for the wicks. They work VERY well; so well in fact, that they allow me to water plants in the 5:1:1 mix on a schedule, which is supposed to be taboo. * When you water, water thoroughly so you wet the entire soil column. Tip the just watered pot at a 45* angle (see B above) so a drain hole with a wick through it is at the lowest point (see E above). The wick should hang at least 3" below the pot bottom until it stops draining. It should drain all or almost all of the excess water the soil holds. See the mophead in the image below (along with some of the repotting tools I use). The following sequence shows a wick set-up for pots with a single drain hole. The wick works better when the hole is through the bottom at the sidewall. I honestly did not think a cast iron plant would be fussy in their choice of soil composition. Most plants commonly grown as houseplants (other than cacti and some succulents) do not vary much in what they want insofar as a grow medium and moisture levels. They almost ALL want a medium that is evenly damp or moist with plenty of air porosity to drive root function. Where they DO vary is where the limits to what they will tolerate lie. The most commonly grown houseplants all tolerate indoor conditions. Some are known to tolerate low light or dry soil conditions better than others, but very few will tolerate the watering cycle that includes a large fraction of roots completely inundated for such long periods. A well-made 5:1:1 mix will (structurally) last much longer than media based on peat/ coir/ compost/ composted forest products, and can generally be watered almost at will without serious consequences in the form or limited root function or poor root health. The reason a 5:1:1 mix with too much fine material can't offer the same benefits as a 5:1:1 mix with an appropriate fraction of fine material is exactly the same reason that adding a bit bark and perlite to a poorly made commercial mix doesn't work. It is essential the the volume of particles larger than about 1/8" make up somewhere around 80-85% of the mix. Examples: A) If you have a jar of peat and add an equal measure of pine bark thinking it will improve aeration, it will be a failure because there is more than enough peat to fill all pore space between bark particles. B) If you have a commercial grow medium you feel is holding too much water and try to amend it with pine bark and or perlite, thinking it will improve aeration, it will also be a failure unless you add so much bark and perlite that, combined, they make up a fraction of the medium by far larger than the original soil you started with. In fact, adding pine bark and or perlite to a water-retentive medium continually DECREASES o/a air porosity until reaching "threshold proportion", where there is no longer enough fine material to fill pores between the coarse material. From that point on, adding additional coarse material significantly increases o/a aeration. Al

I notice that you still haven’t indicated your growing zone or the largest big city you are close to. What may be true for someone in zone 7 is most likely to be completely different than someone in zone 4,5, or 6. So it helps us to better help you when we have this info. Your photos do look like Japanese Beetle damage and once it’s done, it’s done. They should recover for next year. I don’t know of anything preventative for the beetles. Maybe someone else will???? I had them on my Pendula Salix caprea (weeping willow) a few years ago. I tried to knock off as many as possible into soapy water every few days. What I learned that year is NOT to squish them as that releases the pheromones that attract more. They haven’t been back since. Of course by saying that, I will be cursed with them next year. 😝 debra

its september.. days are getting shorter.. and trees are shutting down.. the result of shutting down.. is ugly leaves.. we do not treat leaves that will fall off in a few weeks or a month ... trees that are stressed.. can shut down early... stress might be heat.. drought.. hail storm etc.. related.. everything that happened to the tree since the leaves emerged.. causes ugly leaves in fall .. care to tell us what this trees been thru since early spring??? bark maturation and weirdness doesnt really bother me... nothing you can do about it.. other than observe it.... but.. could we see the whole trunk.. including where it goes in the ground.. is the root flare apparent?? ken