Echinacea purpurea is an unpretentious and undemanding plant. However, for normal growth and development, she needs proper care.
Echinacea purpurea
Echinacea is a flower that belongs to the Astrov family. It was described by C. Linnaeus. The plant has a therapeutic effect on the body. It is used in folk and traditional medicine. He is also popular in landscape design.
Echinacea is a perennial flower of a rhizome type. Under natural conditions, grows on the North American continent. The flower is distributed on stony hills and in the steppes. Even the American Indians knew about the healing properties of this plant, so it was grown and used on a large scale.
What does Echinacea look like?
The name of the flower translates as "prickly hedgehog." This is due to the fact that its stem is rough. The height of the plant can reach 1.5 m. The leaf plates are wide, tapering towards the end. Inflorescences resemble chamomile. Flowers can be red, white, yellow and pink. Flowering begins in the second half of July and lasts two months.
Beneficial features
Echinacea (flowers) is able to have a healing effect on the body. The roots and parts that grow above the ground contain a very large amount of vitamins and minerals. Together, they have antiviral, antimicrobial, wound healing and immunostimulating effects.
On the basis of echinacea, various drugs are produced. The beneficial properties of echinacea contribute to a quick recovery. They also strengthen the body, restore normal physical and mental health, affect the rapid healing of wounds, heal tonsillitis and tonsillitis, and improve blood coagulation.
Important! Echinacea is a strong allergy sufferer. It and its preparations are contraindicated for use by pregnant, lactating, young children, people prone to allergic reactions. Self-treatment is dangerous, therefore, prior consultation with a doctor is required.
Echinacea is also popular in garden decoration. She will look better in the background of the site. Often it is planted next to dahlias, yarrow, rudbeckia, salvia and other ornamental plants.
Types of Echinacea
Echinacea - the grass, in addition to the purple appearance, has other species and varieties. In nature, there are about nine varieties of flower. Gardeners mainly use purple-colored hybrids. The following is a description of the most popular varieties of Echinacea.
Hot papaya
Echinacea Hot Papaya has red double flowers with an orange tint. The plant grows to 80 cm. The diameter of the flowers is 8 cm.
Aicherb
Echinacea Eicherb grows to 80 cm. The flowers have a pinkish tint.
Eccentric
Echinacea Eccentric is a perennial plant. The maximum height of the bush is 60 cm. The inflorescences are large in the shape of a ball. The center is terry, and the petals look down. First, the flowers have a bright orange color, then the petals change color to fiery red.
View Eccentric
White
Echinacea white is a herbaceous perennial plant. Its height is up to 80 cm. Petals are painted white. Flowers have high healing qualities.
Yellow
Echinacea yellow has large flowers. Its petals are bright yellow, and the center has a chocolate hue. For its growth, loose soil and a sunny place are needed.
Milkshake
Echinacea Milkshake has large flowers. They resemble pompons of a light green hue. The middle is orange. Petals are painted in a delicate white color. Flowering occurs within two months. Shrub reaches up to 1.5 m.
View Milkshake
Guava
Grown in mixboders and flower beds. It reaches 80-100 cm. The flowers are large and double bright red. Narrow oval leaves. The color of the leaves is green. Sometimes there is a purple tint at the base.
Guava view
Other famous varieties:
- Butterfly. Grows to 40 cm. The flowers are bright pink, and the center is bright brown;
- Burgundy is a perennial. The flowers are large in size, the petals are painted in the color of Burgundy wine. Inflorescences are very bright;
- Marmalade. Grows up to 80 cm, inflorescences of bright orange color, terry;
- Twister. It grows to 50 cm, the petals have a greenish tint;
- Red hat. It can reach up to 1.3 cm, has pink petals and a red core.
View Butterfly
Landing and care
Planting and caring for purple coneflower outdoors is not a complicated procedure. You can plant in autumn or spring. Often a plant is planted after dividing the bush. It is possible to grow a flower from seeds. However, this method is applicable only for species crops. The place where the flower is planned to be planted should be well-lit, and the soil should be nutritious and well-treated from weeds.
Important! Sandy and moist soil is not suitable for cultivation.
Landing process:
- Make holes about 50 mm deep. There should be a distance of at least 30 cm between the wells.
- Put compost at the bottom.
- Plant Echinacea.
- Water abundantly.
If the plant grew in a container, the pit should be about 0.4 m. It is filled with compost, garden soil and sand. The plant is shifted into a hole along with a lump of earth.
Watering
The plant is watered in the evening. Do it abundantly and often.
Top dressing
In the second year of growth, the plant is fed with wood ash and rotted compost. Thanks to this, flowering occurs more abundantly. Top dressing is carried out in the spring and after the flowers fall off the plant.
Features of care during the flowering period
During flowering, care for the flower is also necessary. As a top dressing, it is worth choosing complex mineral fertilizers, which include potassium phosphate.
Important! If you plan to use the flower for medicinal purposes, then any dressing is contraindicated.
Features after flowering
After the plant ceases to bloom, preparation for winter is necessary: pruning shoots and sheltering bushes.
Winter preparations
The plant in question is frost-resistant. If there is very little snow in winter, then the flower may freeze. This is especially dangerous for young bushes, which are not even a year old. To prevent the flower from dying, shoots are cut from the plant in the last days of October, and the root neck is covered with mulch. From above produce shelter with dried leaves or spruce branches.
Breeding methods
To grow echinacea, one of the methods is possible: growing seedlings or a vegetative method.
From seed
Collect seeds at the end of the season. This is done gradually, so they ripen at different intervals. Seeds are removed after the basket becomes dark. It is necessary to collect seeds with gloves. Next, they need to be sorted out and dried. Finished seeds are also available at the garden store.
Planting material must be sown in late February. Planting Instructions:
- Seed preparation. They are soaked in water, as their shell is very hard. Seeds are wrapped in a napkin, put on a plate and soaked in water. It is important that air enters them.
- When the seeds begin to sprout, they are sown in any container to a depth of 5-7 mm.
- Next is filled with sand. Then the earth is moistened from the spray gun.
- The container is covered with a film and placed in a warm place.
Important! Indentation of seeds should be done with a match, as it is possible to make planting too deep with your fingers.
The soil with seeds is moistened with a spray bottle. Excessive moisture is unacceptable. The film should be removed for a while to ventilate the container. Shoots will appear in 1.5-2 months.
How to grow from seed
Bush division
This method is applicable to plants from 2 to 4.5 years. The method can be applied in early spring. To do this, you must:
- Dig a plant and divide it into several parts. Each dividend should have a kidney and additional roots.
- Place the appendix in a liquid immunostimulant.
- They land in the ground. The root necks do not need to be deepened.
Thus, the landing is done in open ground. In cool weather, the flower is planted in a pot, and from above they cover it with agrofibre. After a month and a half, the bushes should take root. In spring, the plant can be transplanted into the garden.
Diseases and Pests
The plant in question is resistant to diseases and pests. The occurrence of ailments is possible due to improper care. When it is hot and humid in the summer, and a strong temperature fluctuation occurs, the plant may become infected with powdery mildew. In affected plants, a white coating appears on the leaves. They must be treated with Bordeaux liquid.
Other fungal diseases are cercosporosis and septoria. They begin with the fact that spots appear on the leaf blades, and the plant itself withers before our eyes. When the flower is not very affected, then you just need to remove the affected areas. If everything is started, then it is treated with fungicides.
Important! When infected with viral diseases, the flowers are deformed, and the leaves turn yellow and dry. At the first symptoms, the plants are eliminated, and the earth is treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Perhaps the appearance of slugs, bugs and slobbery pennies. Decker is collected by hands. The crushed walnut shell is spread on the leaves in an even layer. It will prevent the spread of the pest. Insecticides are used against insects.
Diseased plant
Gardener tips
Experienced gardeners advise on the following rules for the care and cultivation of echinacea:
- for winter, the plant is best covered with an oak leaf, which is specially prepared for this;
- if there are problems with flowering, it is better to try several varieties;
- after planting seeds in a container they need constant moderate humidity. Otherwise, the seeds may simply not sprout;
- during planting, the ground must be prepared. To do this, compost, garden soil and river sand are mixed. Wells are filled with this mixture;
- in the same place, echinacea grows no more than five years. The plant must be dug up divided and planted in new places.
Echinacea is a beautiful flower rich in healing properties. In addition, it is a beautiful decoration of the flowerbed. Her grass has polysaccharides, organic acids, resins, and essential oils. In plant care, the plant is unpretentious, but if the rules of care are not followed, the plant can become sick and die.
