apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How do you divide them? I love these so much!

I'm jealous! Never managed to grow echinacea in england :(

joebelt,

I have been told that I should wait until mine get well established, which can take a few years. But you can divide Echinacea (early fall or spring in my area) like this:

1. Loosen the soil around the perimeter of the root system.

2. Insert your spade under the plant and lift up. Shake the plant gently to remove excess soil, then divide up the root clump. You can do that with your hands or with a sharp knife.

3. Make sure that each division has a complete portion of roots with stems.

4. Plant each division in a hole with amended soil, making sure to water regularly until new growth shows.

I also am going to try drying the seed heads this year, just to see if I can get any to sprout for next year. Something about harvesting my own seeds has always felt 'off-limits', but I do want to try with these. The method I was told was to cut the stems of a mature flower long and just put them upside down in a bag to catch the seeds as they dry out and fall off. If I have success, I will promise to offer some up to readers!

It would be great to hear if anyone out there has had a good experience or good tips for propagating these guys~

I live in Richmond, VA and it has been a heck of a hot summer, but I'm very happy to say that my Echinacea Purpurea is doing very well. If the temp is up in the upper 90's to 100 and there's no rain for a couple weeks I do find that it will wilt a wee bit and so I try to give it a good soaking every 4-5 days. Other than water and deadheading, there is no maintenance and it just keeps blooming and blooming! It's a super perennial and does very well in my full-sun herb garden next to my thigh-high sweet basil!

The basil is another great one for full sun and little water!

I just moved to a house with a yard-- what would be some good things to plant this time of year? I'm in Washington DC if it makes any difference.

is this something that could be grown in a pot in the window?

And is echinacea the same as bee balm?

Eliza, not the same as bee balm, but distantly related. It is much happier outside, it needs the dormancy period that winter provides. You could try it indoors, but it would, at the very least, need a good amount of sun and a pot that would not restrict the roots.

engineergirl,

please send any info you have to matt @ apartmenttherapy.com and maybe we can offer this up to the crowd! Many plants can be put in the ground this time of year, but depends on the location, soil conditions and sun/water exposure...and how much time you have to baby a new plant. It's definitely not too late, and later in summer/early fall is a great time to establish many perennial plants when the soil is still warm but the air is cool.

Matt, I sent this to Good Questions with some photos and details a couple weeks ago-- hopefully they'll get to it before there's snow on the ground!