echinacea seedlings

[adrianhumph]

Hi all, :D
         I have grown from seed lots of echinacea plants, they are now about 2 to 3 inches tall, and have been potted on into individual 3 inch pots, I was thinking of keeping these in my coldframe to over winter, Is this neccessary , or will they be alright planted out ???
                    Thanks for any comments
                     Adrian.

[adrianhumph]

[Kerry]

hi adrian,
i've found echinacea to be perfectly hardy in my garden (midlands). i've some flowering now in the ground that i grew from seed and some in 3 inch pots grown this year. i'm going to leave mine in the pots this winter and plant out next spring, but that's purely because i haven't cleared the space for them. last year mine overwintered in pots sitting on top of the coldframe, without protection. they didn't suffer any ill effects, despite frost and snow. their only downfall was slugs!