Echinacea (Coneflower)
Echinacea (Coneflower): Simply put - You can hardly have a perennial garden without one of these beauties in a prominent location.
| Echinacea | Perennial |
|---|---|
| Bloom Time | Midsummer to Fall |
| Light | Full Sun to Light Shade |
| Water | Some Drought Tolerance |
| Diseases | Leaf spot, viruses |
| Pests | Japanese Beetles |
| Propagation | Divisions, Root cuttings, Seed |
| Color | Pink, Red, Purple, White |
| Zones | 2-9 |
Echinacea (Coneflower)
With its long-lasting blooms that extend through July and August, the coneflower bring striking color and shape to the perennial garden.
Whenever you mention coneflower, people immediately think of the purple coneflower. There are many different varieties of coneflowers now available in colors that range from the original purple to yellow, white, red and pink.
If you wish to extend the bloom as long as possible, be sure to deadhead the old flower blossoms as soon as they die.
Coneflowers are one of the best perennials you can plant in your garden to attract butterflies and several species of birds.
There are several ways to propagate coneflowers, depending on the variety that you have. Many of the more exotic varieties will not produce true from seed so will have to resort to either root cuttings or division.
Division, I feel, is the easiest and best way to divide Echinacea. You will want to divide the clumps every 3 to 4 years anyway because after this the plant will start to die out.
If you need a lot of coneflowers from one particular plant you can use root cuttings as your method of propagation.
Echinacea (Coneflower)
All varieties of Echinacea are sun lovers. While they will tolerate light shade, they will not do very well in the shade.
They thrive in dry conditions, so if you are concerned about water conservation, this is a great plant choice. They love hot, dry conditions.
The exception to this is that you will need to water-in plantlet's until they are established. If you stress them, it will take much longer for them to take off.
Heavy clay soils is a no-no for this plant. Echinacea's love sandy soil. If planted in clay soils, the plant will simply disappear. So no wet feet for this perennial
Echinacea (Coneflower)
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Echinacea purpurea: plant is the species or the wild form of coneflower that we have grown to love. This perennial wildflower is the plant that breeders use to cross other echinaceas with to develop the fantastic new varieties.
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Dwarf Echinacea's: are coneflowers that grow no taller than 24 inches in height.
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Echinacea 'Meadowbrite Orange': is a color breakthrough in coneflowers. Rich sunset orange, single blooms appear on low mounds of dark green foliage. Flowering begins in midsummer and continues well into fall.
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Echinacea 'Sunrise': is probably the biggest color breakthrough in coneflowers ever. These beautiful plants produce fragrant, huge 5 inch yellow flowers .
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Echinacea 'Vintage Wine': has the most intense, deep raspberry red flowers of any coneflower on the market. Flowers measure 4 inches across with non-drooping petals and prominent dark orange cones.
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Echinacea 'White Swan' is probably the most widely grown white coneflower in the country. Flowers are a clean white with drooping petals.
Undoubtedly you have herd of the coneflower and its use in the medicinal field. The roots of the Echinacea are ground up and used as an immune booster.
You can take Echinacea to fight off colds. If you take the pills on the onset of a cold and it will reduce the effects of the cold. Do not take this product for more than a week or two as the effects will be reduced.
An of course always check with your physician if this product is proper for you to take.
