Topic: Echinacea help

[glow777]

Got given some of the below for free - however they are crowns not bulbs as stated in the website

http://www.vanmeuwen.com/plant/61421

I have no instructions and gooling only gives me seed sowing info.

Does anyone know anything about planting, depths, time and spacing instructions etc, also if possible to put in (large?) containers?

All i can find is they require good drainage

Cheers Glow

[manicscousers]

we've got some planted on the plot, some in the ground and some in containers, the old ones in containers last year died off, must've got too wet..I just buried the new ones in spring, just covered, they did really well..I'm just going to leave them where they are and hope for the best  ;D
oh, sorry, I planted them about 12" apart

[Amazin]

Found this:

"Propagation from Cuttings
Purple coneflower can be propagated by division of the crowns. This technique results in stronger plants initially and eliminates the tedious nurturing and tending of the slow-growing seedlings (Kindscher 1992). Harvest roots when plants are dormant, when leaves begin to turn brown. Wash roots and remove most for use. Then carefully divide the crown by hand to make one to five “plantlets.” Replant the divisions as soon as possible. It is important that they don’t dry out, so if replanting is delayed a couple of hours, dip the plants briefly in water and keep them in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, shady place until you are ready to replant them. When replanting, ensure that the remaining fine roots are well spread out in the planting hole and the soil is pressed firmly around the plant. These plantlets can be grown in flats in the greenhouse during the winter to re-establish their root systems, then replanted in the field the following spring for another round of production."

The link to the whole article is:

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/plantguides/herbs/plantguide.asp?symbol=ECAN2

Hope it helps.

[glow777]

thanks for the above posts
 :)

[froglets]

Speaking to a grower over the summer, was told a lot of the current varieties are crosses of desert and garden varieties and have ended up with root systems that are neither good for one type of situation or the other.  The new varieties being bred now have better root systems so should be more reliable in gardens.  OH loves Art's Pride but we've failed to get it through winters & it turns out that variety has a particularly poor root system, so we're keeping our eyes open for new introductions with similar colouring.
Cheers