Echinacea

Sometimes it is called rudbeckia, although there is an independent plant with this name. Echinacea belong to the family Compositae, come from North America.

Most often in the gardens use a medicinal plant Echinacea purpurea. As a medicinal raw material, not only flower baskets, but also the entire aerial part and rhizomes are used. This is a tall plant( from 1 to 1.5 m) with a strong stem that does not require a garter, with flowers resembling large chamomiles with a convex brown center. In the medicinal echinacea, the pale pink petals are bent downward, but there are varieties with white, down-bent petals, for example, the White Swan variety. There are varieties that do not have medicinal properties, with horizontal petals, for example, a bright pink red hat or white alba. In all these plants, the diameter of the flower reaches 12-13 cm, and flowering lasts more than two months, from July to October.

There is a special feature when growing out of seeds. They need preliminary stratification. You can sow in the open ground, but because of the poor germination of seeds, it is better in March to plant houses for seedlings. Sown seeds at a depth of 2 mm covered with glass and put in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. Then place the containers with seedlings in a bag, tie it and put it on the windowsill. Seedlings appear after 14-21 days. When they grow 2-3 regular leaves, they can be broken up, grown and planted in the open ground immediately in place according to the scheme of 35 x 35 cm, naturally, after the end of spring frosts. If you have a greenhouse, it is best to sow the echinacea there in April-May, even before the end of the frost, so that the seeds underwent a natural stratification. The emerged seedlings to cover from frosts lutrasilom.

Echinacea is excellent in cutting.

Echinacea grows in one place up to six years. The easiest way is to multiply by dividing the rhizome in August. Look good Echinacea in the center of the flower beds, in the background curtains or mixborders, perfectly close various unsightly places on the site, such as a toilet. If necessary, with their help you can separate the garden or the economic part from the central one. It is recommended to use for the green fence to get rid of the bothersome neighbors eyes.