It's my understanding they can hybridize somewhat on their own, especially as they get older.
Dave
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) will self-seed but the new plants won't always be exactly the same as the parent. Usually the color will vary somewhat (among other things) and can be various shades of pink/purplish-pink. The more different plants you have, the more potential variety, which is quite fascinating year to year. If you're sure these are the same plants, bloom color in general can be affected to some extent by prevailing conditions in the habitat as well as cultural practices, but I'd have to leave that discussion to botanists and the like.
I'm not sure what you mean by "annuals that act like perennials." Echinacea purpurea is a perennial plant throughout its range and will come back from the roots (as well as reseed prolifically. Black-eyed susan is the common name for different species in the Rudbeckia genus. Some of these are true annuals, some are tender perennials that act as annuals if grown in colder climates, some are biennials or short-lived perennials, and some are hardy perennials.
Best, Tyra nNJ usa z7, having the best purple coneflower year ever.....
i meant they are annuals but they self seed to such an extent that they come back every year.
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Of course, you know that it is impossible for annuals to act like perennials. Growing new plants from seed that flower the first year and reseed themselves to come up from seed again in succeeding years is exactly what annuals are supposed to do.
On the other hand there are many tender perennials that act like annuals because they flower and fruit the first year from seed.
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