Echinacea purpurea is a well-known perennial which has gained in popularity in recent years with the growth of prairie planting schemes in the UK. These plants will not suit particularly wet gardens, or those with heavier soils, but they can be a good choice for many gardens where there is a cool winter and a warmer spring.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Echinacea purpurea, the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States as well as in the Canadian Province of Ontario. It is most common in the Ozarks and in the Mississippi/Ohio Valley. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies and barrens.
Echinacea purpurea is an herbaceous perennial up to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide at maturity. Depending on the climate, it blooms throughout summer into autumn. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. Its individual flowers (florets) within the flower head are hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs in each flower. It is pollinated by butterflies and bees. The alternate leaves, borne by a petiole from 0 to 17 cm, are oval to lanceolate, 5-30 x 5-12 cm; the margin is tightened to toothed.
The inflorescence is a capitulum, 7 to 15 cm in diameter, formed by a prominent domed central protuberance consisting of multiple small yellow florets. These are surrounded by a ring of pink or purple ligulate florets. The tubular florets are hermaphrodite while the ligular florets are sterile. The involucral bracts are linear to lanceolate. The plant prefers well-drained soils in full sun. The fruit is an achene, sought after by birds.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
To get the most blooms (and the sturdiest plants), plant your purple coneflowers in a spot that gets at least six to eight hours of full sunlight each day. The plants will tolerate partial shade, but may eventually flop over, and the blooms won’t be as prolific.
Swallowtail Garden Seeds
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Temperature and Humidity
As a native prairie plant, purple coneflower thrives in hot, dry climates but can handle a range of temperature and humidity fluctuations. However, they do not do as well in very humid climates, or in rainy areas where the soil stays wet.
Watering
Coneflowers are often listed as drought-tolerant plants, but they will actually do much better with fairly regular watering. Water them daily just after planting, then transition to an inch of water per week for the rest of the plant’s first year of life. Second-year and older plants may only need watering during droughts.
Soil
Coneflowers grow best in a garden that boasts a neutral soil pH of about 6.5 to 7.0. They can thrive in a variety of soil types, including sandy, rocky, and clay soils. However, they do not like wet or mucky soil. For best results, add a bit of compost to your mixture when planting to give your coneflowers a good start.
ai3310X
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Fertilizing
Although coneflowers thrive best in a soil high in organic matter, too much supplemental fertilizer can cause them to become leggy. Adding compost each spring usually gives them the nutrition they need for healthy foliage and blooms.
Pruning
Pruning purple coneflower is helpful, but not imperative. You can leave the plants standing throughout the winter months to feed the birds, and shearing them back in the spring will result in bushier plants that bloom longer into the season.
That being said, deadheading is the primary maintenance for coneflowers. They are prolific bloomers, and deadheading (removing the dead flowers from living plants) will keep them in bloom all summer.
Flowers start blooming from the top of the stem, and each flower remains in bloom for several weeks. As the initial flower fades, more side shoots and buds will form along the stem. Keep the plants deadheaded, and you’ll keep getting more flowers. The process will also help prevent an overabundance of self-seeding from the plant.
Propagation
Echinacea purpurea is propagated either vegetatively or from seeds. Useful vegetative techniques include division, root cuttings, and basal cuttings. Clumps can be divided, or broken into smaller bunches, which is normally done in the spring or autumn. Cuttings made from roots that are “pencil-sized” will develop into plants when started in late autumn or early winter. Cuttings of basal shoots in the spring may be rooted when treated with rooting hormones, such as IBA at 1000 ppm.
Purple coneflowers are relatively easy to grow from seed. If you’d like to save the seed, wait until the cone has fully dried—it should be darker in color and stiff to the touch. The seeds are attached to the sharp spines, so you’ll want to wear gloves, and separate the seeds from the cone. Spread them on a paper plate or screen to dry thoroughly before storing.
Pasi Mammela
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The seeds germinate best with some cold stratification. The easiest method is to sow them outdoors in the fall, either in the ground or winter sowing them in milk jugs. If you are going to start seed indoors, simulate the chilling period by planting seeds in a damp seed starting mixture and placing the sealed container in the refrigerator for eight to 10 weeks. Then, take them out and plant them as you normally would. The seeds need darkness to germinate, so plant them about half an inch deep and cover them with soil. They should germinate within 10 to 14 days. Place the seeds under grow lights that are about an inch or two above the plant once the seedlings emerge.
Pests and Diseases
For the most part, coneflowers have very few problems. As long as the plants are given plenty of room for good air circulation, they should not be bothered by fungal diseases. If you see mildew or spots on the leaves, simply cut them back and let them fill in on their own. A few pests enjoy coneflowers, so keep an eye out for Japanese beetles, aphids and leafhoppers.
Also keep an eye out for aster yellows, a systemic plant disease that causes growth deformities in the flowers.2 It can affect hundreds of different flowers, not just those in the aster family. There is no known cure and it is spread by sap-sucking insects like leafhoppers, so affected plants should be removed and destroyed as soon as possible in order to protect other nearby plants.
III. How to Grow in Pots
BarefootGardener
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We tend to grow coneflowers in the ground as perennial plants, but you can certainly grow them in pots if the containers are deep enough for the plant’s taproot.
- Use 2- or 3-gallon (or larger) pots, with drainage holes. Spread crushed gravel in the bottom of the pots for drainage.
- Fill the pot halfway with a potting mix. Tamp down. Plant the root ball an inch below the rim of the container, spreading out the roots. Add soil slowly until it is even with the top of the root ball, tamping down lightly. Water deeply.
- Keep pots in partial shade for 2 to 3 days, then place in full morning sun and partial afternoon shade.
- Always water deeply at soil level with the soil dry to the touch. Water on leaves can cause fungal disease.
- Fertilize every couple of weeks with a water-soluble 10-10-10 product.
- Deadhead just below the base of the flower for continued bloom.
- To overwinter, prune plants to soil level when plant growth slows in fall.
- Move to a cool (40º to 50ºF) area, with low to moderate indirect light.
- Check the soil every couple of weeks and water lightly when the top 3 inches are dry.Â
- When new.growth appears in spring, move to a brighter, warmer (60º to 70ºF) area. Moving the plant helps to prepare it for living outdoors in the spring and summer.Â
- Do not water leaves from above, as this can encourage fungal disease on leaves. Instead, water at soil level. Use an insecticidal soap or neem oil solution spray if you see any aphids or pests.
- Every 3 to 4 years, in spring after new growth has started, divide and repot echinacea plants.
IV. Uses and Benefits
M. Martin Vicente
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This herbaceous perennial is commonly grown in gardens. One reason why the purple coneflower is so popular for gardens is that it is wonderful for attracting pollinators and other wildlife.
Bees and other pollinators love the pollen and nectar-rich flowers, and birds love the seeds.
Echinacea is also popular because it looks wonderful in naturalistic prairie planting schemes, alongside other herbaceous perennials and grasses, and these schemes have become very popular in recent years.
V. Harvesting and Storage
- Cut flowers for arrangements when petals are expanding. Vase life is 5 to 7 days.
- Leave some of the spent blooms so that birds can eat the seed through the fall and winter.
- Harvest some flowers to dry for herbal teas.
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