Description
Coneflower (Echinacea) is native to prairies and open woodlands of North America. It is named for the spiny cone-shaped flower center encircled by slender petals in shades of pink, purple or white. Newer varieties come in single and double forms and new coneflower colors such as orange, green, peach and coral. Coneflower (Echinacea) is native to prairies and open woodlands of North America. It is named for the spiny cone-shaped flower center encircled by slender petals in shades of pink, purple or white. Newer varieties come in single and double forms and new coneflower colors such as orange, green, peach and coral.
Habitat
They are found only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas.
Uses
Traditionally, this herbal remedy has been used for centuries to treat upper respiratory infections, coughs, bronchitis, common colds, and several inflammatory ailments. Clinical trials and other echinacea research are scarce and mostly conducted in German.
Varieties
Native to North America, coneflowers (Echinacea) grow in open forests and plains. It gets its name from the prickly cone-shaped flower center surrounded by thin petals that are either pink, purple, or white in color. Orange, green, peach, and coral are among the new coneflower colors available in the single and double forms of the most recent cultivars.
Plant Care
- Water
Coneflower needs to be watered every other day for three to four weeks after planting in order to establish itself. “Provide watering at least once a week if hot and dry weather persists,” Roethling advises. “After a year, hopefully, there should be no need to provide water.” Every time you water, use around one liter of water.
- Light
Coneflowers should ideally be planted in an area that receives at least six hours of full sunshine every day, even if they can take slight shade.
- Soil
Coneflower loves loamy, well-drained soils. “A lot of us might also find clay or sand,” “If you mix compost to the sand and clay, that will help the coneflowers thrive.” If you choose to keep your coneflower in a container as opposed to moving it outside, mix soil conditioner with potting soil, which includes peat moss. “Peat moss holds moisture and with coneflowers being prairie plants, too much moisture will most definitely lead to rot,” “Soil conditioner is porous and the soil combination will yield a better result.”
- Fertilizer
If you get the most out of your coneflowers, fertilizer should be added in late winter or early spring. “I like to top dress the soil around the plant with a good two inches of compost,” says Christina Matthews, the owner of The Flower Lady and an urban flower farmer-florist. “I find that in my gardens the compost is all they need in order for the plant to provide me with an endless amount of summer blooms.”
If composting isn’t your thing, though, you may always use a low ratio product or slow release fertilizer like Plant Tone. “Coneflower will not thrive with synthetic fertilizers”. “Both ground-based and potted plants can benefit from the use of compost or plant tone.
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