Price range: £1.85 through £25.50
Echinacea Purpurea. Purple coneflower. Attractive border and cut flower with medicinal properties.
Scroll down for more info.
Echinacea
echinacea purpurea
Approx. 172 seeds per gram
Echinacea has an amazing reputation for boosting the immune system and has been used medicinally by native American Indians for centuries. It originates from North America, it will grow in full sun or partial shade and is drought tolerant. Echinacea is also known as purple cone flower which aptly describes the daisy like blooms which flower throughout the summer. They are loved by bees and butterflies. The word Echinacea, from the Greek ekhînos and the Latin echinus means prickly, as in the cone of the flower. The root word also applies to hedgehogs, sea urchins and chestnut husks. Echinacea purpurea is a perennial plant and will grow each year to around one meter tall and die back in the winter.
How to grow:
Sow the seeds in pots in a cold frame or greenhouse from February until May. Germination will be improved if you employ stratification of the seed and then sow it without any soil covering or just a thin layer of vermiculite. Stratification is a process that mimics the conditions in the natural habitat which break the dormancy of the seed. Mix the seeds with some damp sand and put in a sealed plastic bag in warm place for a couple of months. Then put the bag in the fridge for a couple of months and then sow. You will need to start this process in the Autumn for sowing the following Spring. Transplant the small plants into the permanent site from May.
Pests and diseases:
Watch out for and take precautions against slugs when transplanting.
How to use:
We do not have any experience of using Echinacea plants medicinally and grow them for the beauty of the flower and the for the butterflies and bees. Also, be aware that some people have an allergy to the daisy family which might apply to chamomile, feverfew and echinacea.