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Echinacea: description, cultivation, care and use. Echinacea growing from seeds

Echinacea improves immunity by producing interferon, which has a beneficial effect on the human body. The tincture is prepared from the inflorescences of the beautiful Echinacea flower. It helps in the treatment of neurasthenia, sinusitis, laryngitis, cystitis, influenza, prostatitis, and is often prescribed in combination with antibiotics to maintain immunity. Externally used to treat furunculosis, urticaria, insect bites, and herpes. Echinacea actively fights infectious diseases, Escherichia coli. It can rightly be called natural effective antibiotic and an immunomodulator. This plant is still being studied by scientists today, as it still conceals many secrets.

The flower itself is a stem up to 1 m long, straight stems with a light rough structure, basal leaves collected in a rosette, baskets can reach a diameter of 15 cm. Echinacea flowering in open ground begins differently, depending on the planting method: from the second year of life when sowing in open ground or in the year of planting, if through seedlings. Takes place from July to September. The most popular is Echinacea purpurea.

They put her on personal plot for decorating the landscape, in a flower garden, or in medicinal purposes. Grow beautiful flower Anyone can grow echinacea, since planting and care are very simple. Suitable for any climate, it is not afraid of rain or heat, and will tolerate less than ideal soil composition. Pairs beautifully with phloxes. This is an excellent honey plant.

How to plant Echinacea seeds

For planting, choose an open, sunny area. If the soil has an acidic pH, then... Seeds with a shelf life of more than 1 year have a very low percentage germination.

Echinacea seeds are planted in open ground in late April-May. Shoots appear in 2-4 weeks. However, in conditions middle zone In Russia, growing Echinacea through seedlings is recommended.

To grow seedlings, seeds are planted in late February-early March, first pressed down 0.5-1 cm and sprinkled with a thin layer of sand on top. Germinate at a temperature of 13-15°C. Used as a substrate sandy soil or a mixture of garden and wood ash. Seedlings appear within 2-5 weeks, during which time you need to maintain soil moisture. At night, crops can be covered with polyethylene, creating a greenhouse effect.

Young seedlings are transferred to open ground in May, when their height is 10-15 cm. They are planted in holes, at the bottom of which they make drainage layer from crushed stone or expanded clay. The distance between the holes is 30-40 cm.

Caring for Echinacea

The plant does not like frequent watering; once every 2 weeks is enough; in hot weather it can be done more often. Water in the morning or evening. Weeds and faded inflorescences are regularly removed. Transplanted after 4 years spring time for rejuvenation. Fertilizing begins a week after planting and during the budding period, using complex mineral fertilizer or organic matter in the form of a mixture of compost and wood ash. This will allow the plant not to stagnate, but to develop and bloom luxuriantly.

Overmoistening of the soil or stagnation of water causes disease, spots appear on the leaves caused by Cercospora spores, and this causes the flower to die. Detected damaged parts are removed or treated with a fungicide. Viruses cause curvature of flower stalks. Sick plants are immediately removed from the site so that other plants are not harmed.

Among the pests that love Echinacea are bugs and the slobbering pennies.

For the winter, at the end of October, the above-ground part is cut off, and the root collar is mulched with peat, spruce branches or compost. Cover with a layer of dry leaves on top. Such shelter for the winter will allow the plant to successfully overwinter and not die during the snowless season.

Echinacea is usually propagated by seeds or by dividing the bush. Division is carried out on plants that are 4-5 years old. In early spring, the rhizome is divided into several parts so that each section has 3 or more buds. Next, they are kept in a growth stimulator for 2-3 hours, after which they are planted so that the root collar is at ground level.

The plant can be planted in spring and autumn. Echinacea is propagated by dividing the bush, but cultivation from seeds has also been successfully used. When can you plant them?

Soil preparation

Seeds for seedlings are planted in late February or early March. The soil should be loose and nutritious. It should be disinfected before planting. To do this, the bag of soil can be exposed to frost for a day or spilled with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. Some gardeners bake the soil in the oven.

Preparing and sowing seeds

Pay attention to the expiration date of the seeds. It should not be more than 1 year old, otherwise germination will be worse.

Before planting, the seeds should be soaked in water or special solution, growth stimulant. This will speed up germination. Place a damp cloth on a plate and place the seeds. To prevent moisture from evaporating, cover them. The seeds hatch unevenly. It is better to immediately plant some of the sprouted seeds rather than wait for the rest to hatch.

Pour soil into the seedling container and make furrows 0.5-1 cm deep. Place the seeds at a distance of 2 cm from each other. Leave 3 cm between grooves.

Cover the container plastic film, with a special transparent lid or glass, place in a warm place. This will create a greenhouse effect. The room temperature should be +13…+15 °C.

Seeds germinate for quite a long time, sometimes a whole month. The soil should be moist, it is better to spray it.

Many gardeners prefer to pick seedlings. After the appearance of two or three leaves, each plant is planted in a separate cup. Such seedlings take root faster in open ground.

Seedling care

When shoots appear, remove the cover from the container and place the seedlings in a lighted place. Thickened rows should be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots.

The soil must be loosened periodically. Water regularly. The strengthened sprouts are ready for planting.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Seedlings are planted on open areas in May, when the earth warms up.

The soil needs to be prepared. It should be loose and fertile with a neutral reaction. If the soil is sandy, then add humus to it, and if it is acidic, then add lime.

Echinacea loves illuminated areas; in the shade it may not even bloom.

Before planting seedlings, you need to make holes up to 5 cm deep and at a distance of 30 cm from each other. At the bottom of each depression you need to put compost and a little ash. Place the sprout in the hole and sprinkle. The seedlings need to be watered immediately.

When transplanting from cups, the depth of the hole should be the same as the height of the cup.

Planting seeds in open ground

When propagating Echinacea from seeds, planting in open ground is carried out in late spring. To do this, make shallow furrows. It is better to choose large seeds, they have a higher germination rate. The furrows are sealed with a thin layer garden soil.

Seeds germinate at a temperature of +13 °C.

Caring for plants in open ground

Echinacea – unpretentious plant. It should be watered moderately. On hot days, one watering in the morning or evening will be enough. We feed the plant before and after flowering. Well-rotted compost will do.

In the first year there may not be any flowering. Don’t be upset; in the second year, Echinacea will definitely bloom.

Important! If you are growing echinacea as medicine, then mineral fertilizers cannot be used.

When the center of the flower darkens, you can collect the seeds. Carefully cut off the boxes and shake out the seeds onto a sheet of paper. If you don't need seeds, then wilted flowers better to cut it off.

It is very important to remove weeds on time. At proper care The plant will not be afraid of diseases and pests.

Echinacea is a cold-resistant crop, but in severe frosts it can freeze. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to cut off all its stems at the end of October and mulch the root collar with compost. Cover the bush with dry leaves or spruce branches. In winter, additional snow covers the plantings.

What types of echinacea are there? Planting and caring for it in open ground, photos, as well as methods of breeding and propagating Echinacea will be described in this article. If you want to combine business with pleasure, be sure to plant the beautiful Echinacea in your garden. This representative of the Aster family has a good reputation, and it is well deserved. Echinacea has long been successfully used in folk and official medicine, and bright large buds, somewhat similar to multi-colored daisies, decorate our gardens and flower beds.

Echinacea – perennial flower: it is unpretentious, easy to grow, and has good survival rate in a new place. The plant is easily propagated by dividing the bush or sowing seeds. The best choice for planting Echinacea sunny places, but, as practice shows, it also feels good in partial shade.

There are also no special requirements for the type of soil, the only exception being light sandy soil. If you have highly acidic soil on your site, then before planting of this flower It is recommended to add lime first. The most common type of echinacea is Echinacea purpúrea. This is Echinacea purpurea, which was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, a world-famous botanist. Later, much later, scientists ranked Echinacea as a separate genus and identified 10 species. They all have an external similarity and can often be confused. However, it is Echinacea purpúrea that is most often used for treatment, creation medicines, decoration garden plots, flower bed

Echinacea - planting and care

The planting process itself can be carried out either in autumn or spring. Hybrid varieties reproduce primarily by division (vegetatively) - this method, as well as the generative method (by seeds), will be discussed a little later. So, to plant seedlings, you will have to dig small holes, 5-7 cm deep. The distance between them should be approximately 25-30 cm. If you are planting cuttings, make sure that the holes are slightly wider and deeper than the root system of the plant. You can simply bury the seedling in the soil and gently press the soil around it; you can also first place compost in the hole, and then the plant itself. After planting, the bushes should be watered.

If the echinanacea flower was purchased in a store, in a container or in a pot, then landing pit should be deep and wide enough (approximately 40 cm). Experienced flower growers It is recommended to mix compost, garden soil and river sand in equal parts; fill the hole about 1/3 full with this mixture. Next, the echinacea is carefully removed from the pot by transferring it and, together with a lump of earth, is placed in an already prepared hole. It is recommended to immerse the seedling in the soil to the depth at which it was in the container.

Keep in mind that it won't be until the second year that your echinacea blooms. Growing and caring for it will require regular generous watering (preferably in evening time). Removing weeds and loosening the soil are self-evident garden chores. As for fertilizing, Echinacea can do just fine without it. However, if you want to feed your favorite flower, then it is better to start this business from the second year of its life. Echinacea flowers are usually nourished wood ash and rotted compost, mixed in equal parts. Doing so better in spring or in the fall, after the plant has finished flowering. You can also use various complex additives for flowering plants, for example Agricola.

It is better to tear off faded buds immediately, unless, of course, you intend to collect seeds from them. With the onset of autumn, around the end of October, the above-ground part of the plant should be cut off and covered with compost and dry leaves. Do not forget that Echinacea purpurea can freeze if the winter is snowless. That is why mulching with leaves or spruce branches is only welcome. Regarding the collection seed material, then it should be collected only after the flowers have fully ripened. Their darkened centers are an indicator of maturity. Remove the seeds from the center of the bud, remove the flower remains, and transfer to a glass container or fabric bag. Remember that the seeds lose their viability very quickly, so you should not delay sowing a new population of Echinacea.

Echinacea, photo of flowers:

When talking about plant care, we cannot ignore the topic of pests and diseases. Echination has pretty good immunity, but sometimes anything can happen. The cause of the disease may be improper care or even weather. heat and high humidity(frequent rains), as well as temperature changes can trigger the appearance of ash (powdery mildew). This disease can also occur from oversaturation of the plant with nitrogen supplements. In this case, good old Bordeaux mixture will come to the rescue. If your Echinacea flower has been infected by a fungus, then all infected fragments should be removed as quickly as possible.

As mentioned above, this plant reproduces by seeds and dividing the bush. Division is considered the most convenient and effective method, which is best done in spring (April) or autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees. The seed method is quite time-consuming, but it is optimal for gardeners living in cold regions. When sowing in a container, you will have to subsequently transplant the echinacea into open ground. Now let's take a closer look at these two methods.

Propagation of Echinacea by division

To do this, you should choose healthy bushes that are at least 4 years old. The plant must be carefully removed from the ground, making sure that the root system is not damaged. Next, we divide the roots so that each division contains 3 or 4 renewal buds. You should not disassemble the rhizome into many small fragments; it is enough to select 2-3 high-quality, well-developed sections. After this, it is recommended to place the selected parts in Kornevin’s solution (for two hours), and then plant them in the soil using the method described above. When planting, make sure that the root collar is above the ground level. It is better to cut off the top part of the echinacea so that it directs all its strength to rooting.

Echinacea - growing from seeds

To collect seed material also try to select the healthiest and strongest bushes. Seeds can be sown directly into the ground with the onset of spring (April), when there is confidence that there will be no more frosts. After this, it is enough to lightly sprinkle them with soil and wait for the shoots, which will not hesitate to appear even at a temperature of +13 ºC. This method is optimal for those who live in warm regions of our country. Do not skimp on the seeds when planting, in any case, later you can always thin out the too dense seedlings. In other cases, it is better to use the seedling method, first sowing the seeds in containers.

When to plant Echinacea seeds? The best time for this is February or the first days of March. The appropriate soil is poured into the containers in advance, grooves are made into which the seeds are placed to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm. There should be approximately 2 cm between the seeds. You need to very carefully sprinkle them on top with a thin layer river sand or the same soil in which they were planted. After this, you should irrigate your “flower garden” with water from a spray bottle ( room temperature). Next, the container needs to be moved to a room where the temperature varies between +14..+18ºC. At night it is better to cover it with glass or cling film, but in the morning the protection will have to be removed. In such conditions, it may take a month and a half before Echinacea purpurea sprouts. Growing using the container method always takes quite a long time, and this is normal.

Do not forget to periodically moisten the soil - your efforts will be justified. Having hatched, the seedlings begin to grow quite quickly, as if they are compensating for the long weeks of calm in the stage of planting seeds. Move it away from straight lines sun rays, but keep it in the light.

When can you replant echinacea? Stronger plants are planted in open ground after May 10-15, surrounded by standard care. Be prepared for the fact that in the first year they will not please you with flowers, but will only grow foliage and reach 20 cm in height. But next year you will be able to admire the bright fragrant buds and collect a supply of medicinal raw materials from the bushes you grew yourself.

Echinacea - varieties, photos

There are many beautiful Echinacea purpurea hybrids available today. All of them are highly decorative, are honey plants and compete with each other in beauty. Echinaceas differ in color, shape of buds, height of stems, but at the same time they are all similar to each other. It is quite difficult to single out any special varieties, and to describe all the available ones is even more difficult. Below I will present photographs of the varieties that I had the opportunity to meet.

Supreme Cantaloupe variety:

White Swan variety:

Variety Magnus:

Hot Papaya variety:

Secret Passion variety:

Cranberry variety:

Cranberry Cupcake variety:

Echinacea Strange, photo:

All varieties of this flower deserve attention; they will adequately highlight the features of your landscape design, and if necessary, they will hide its shortcomings. From mid-summer until the end of September, attractive and not capricious echinacea will give you beauty and aroma. Planting and care in open ground, photos of flowers, and the nuances of growing are now known to you. Don’t waste time, stock up on seed or cuttings.

And may everything work out for you!

Variety Red Riding Hood

Echinacea (Echinacea) – perennial herbaceous plant, belonging to the Asteraceae (Asteraceae) family. Translated from Greek language the name means “prickly like a hedgehog.”

This is due to the shape of the inflorescence: the core consists of numerous tubular flowers (like a hedgehog), framed by brightly colored petals, like a daisy. Echinacea was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and was assigned to the genus Rudbenkia, but about 40 years later it was separated into its own genus.

Botanical description

The plant is rhizomatous. Its height is 1-1.5 m. The stem is erect, rough. The basal leaves are wide, oval in shape with serrated edges, attached to long petioles. The stem leaves are almost sessile or sessile, lanceolate in shape, arranged alternately.

The inflorescences-baskets (characteristic of Compositae) are large. The marginal reed inflorescences (petals) are painted white, pink, and red. The core has a dark red, red-brown color. The fruit is a tetrahedral achene. It blooms from about mid-summer to the end of September.

Growing Echinacea from Seeds

Generative (seed) propagation is applied to varietal plants (hybrids do not retain varietal characteristics when propagated by seed).

Sowing in open ground

Echinacea seeds are sown in open ground in early spring or late autumn.
Dig up the soil, level the bed, make shallow furrows (seed placement depth 1-2 cm) at a distance of 20-25 cm, sow the seeds sparsely, sprinkle with a thin layer of soil, water.
The first shoots are thinned to a distance of 7-8 cm, then - 10-15, and finally the bushes are left at a distance of 25-30 cm for low-growing varieties and 40-50 cm for powerful plants. excess plants can simply be transplanted to a new location as seedlings.
In the first year, Echinacea grows root system, and flowering will occur next season.

Sowing seedlings at home

Echinacea from seeds at home photo of seedlings

For getting ready-made seedlings spring planting it is necessary to grow seedlings.

Please note that the seeds have a hard shell, so before planting they should be soaked in warm water, or better yet, as a growth stimulator. Even in this case, germination takes about 1 month.

Sowing Echinacea seeds for seedlings at the end of February. Sow in wooden boxes, containers or individual cups - at your discretion.
The soil should be light, permeable to water and air.
Deepen the seeds by 5-10 mm.
The distance between the seeds is 5-7 cm.
Moisten the crops, cover with film, place in a bright place, maintain the air temperature at 13-15 ºC.
When shoots appear, remove the film. Maintain moderate soil moisture.
In early May, start hardening by leaving it outside for a couple of hours, and gradually increase the time to a full day.
Plant stronger plants in open ground in May, when the soil is already warmed up and the threat of return frosts has passed.

Planting Echinacea in open ground

Grows best in areas with full sun.

The soil requires fertile, neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Light sandy soils or too wet soils are absolutely not suitable. If the soil is acidic, apply garden lime.

For seedlings, dig holes about 5 cm deep, for cuttings - slightly larger size root system.
Maintain a distance of about 30 cm between plantings. Place a small amount of compost at the bottom of the planting hole.

If you purchased a large seedling in a container, dig a hole about 40 cm deep. Fill one third of it with a mixture of garden soil, compost, and sand in equal proportions. Pass the fathoms along with the earthen lump. The root collar should remain at the same level as when growing in a container.

How to care for echinacea in the garden

Water your echinacea deeply and often. Do this better in the evening.
Remove weeds regularly and loosen the soil periodically.
From the second year of life, start feeding. Twice a season (in early spring and after flowering), apply organic matter or complex mineral fertilizer.
If there is no need to collect seeds, cut off the faded inflorescences with a piece of stem to the first green leaf.

Propagation of Echinacea by dividing the bush

Most often, the plant is propagated by dividing the bush (this way the varietal characteristics are preserved). You can divide an Echinacea bush that is 4-5 years old. Carry out the procedure in spring (April) or autumn. Carefully dig up the bush, divide it into parts so that each contains 3-4 growth buds, and plant them.

Diseases and pests of Echinacea

If the summer is rainy with temperature fluctuations, damage is possible powdery mildew: shoots and leaves become covered with a whitish coating. This can also happen from excess nitrogen fertilizers. It is necessary to treat with Bordeaux mixture or colloidal sulfur.

Cercospora blight, septoria blight - dangerous fungal diseases, manifested by various spots on the leaves. The plant becomes weak and may die. Remove affected areas and treat with fungicide.

When affected by viral diseases, the leaves turn yellow and dry, and the flower stalks become deformed. Affected plants must be removed from the area and burned; treat the growth area with a strong solution of manganese.

Pests: bedbugs, slobbering pennies, slugs. Collect gastropods by hand and use traps. Treating with an insecticide will help get rid of insects.

Seed collection

Seed ripening is uneven. When the center of the core darkens, these seeds can be collected. Carefully remove them (it is better to wear a rag glove), clean them from any remaining inflorescences and dry them. Seeds quickly lose their viability.

Overwintering Echinacea

Echinacea is frost-resistant. Young plants and, if a cold, snowless winter is expected, should be covered for the winter. At the end of October, cut off the stems, mulch the root collar with compost, and cover with dry leaves and spruce branches on top.

Types and varieties of Echinacea with photos and names

There are only 9 species of Echinacea in the natural environment. Mostly, Echinacea purpurea is cultivated with developed varieties and hybrids, and less commonly, Echinacea strange.

Echinacea purpurea

The height of the plant is about 1 m. The stems are erect. The basal leaves are wide, oval in shape, attached to long petioles; stem - oblong, sessile. The reed flowers are about 4 cm long, have a purple-pink color, and the core is red-brown.

Varieties:

Granatstem - the height of the plant reaches 1.3 m. The reed flowers have two-toothed tops, are painted purple, the core Brown. The diameter of the inflorescence is 13 cm.

Zonnenlach - reaches a height of 1.4, the diameter of the basket is 10 cm. The tops of the reed inflorescences are divided into 3 teeth, the color is dark red, the core is brown.

Echinacea purpurea terry variety Cranberry Cupcake photo

Cranberry Cupcake – very interesting variety. The core is massive, lush, consists of hundreds of small tongues, the color is dark pink, the petals are painted light purple.

The King - the stem rises 2 m. The massive inflorescence reaches a diameter of 15 cm. The color is red-pink.

White Swan - white inflorescences.

Indiaca - color range from soft pink to light brown.

Purple coneflower variety Magnus Echinacea Purpurea ‘Magnus’ photo

Magnus – plant height is 1 m. Very popular variety. The core is light brown in color, the petals are pale pink.

Ruby star is an echinacea 70-80 cm high, basket diameter is about 14 cm. The core is brown, the petals are crimson.

Echinacea Sunset Echinacea x sunset

A series of hybrids bred by Richard Skol. They are notable for their large inflorescences. Reed inflorescences are curved, can have the color of mango, mustard, strawberry, peach, exude wonderful aroma. Henna colored core.

Popular varieties:

Julia (from the Kisses of Butterflies series) - reaches a height of 45 cm. The flowers are bright orange.

Cleopatra - the diameter of the inflorescence is 7.5 cm. The petals are sunny yellow.

Evening Glow – the core is cone-shaped, dark in color. Reed flowers are yellow in color with an orange stripe and a pinkish tint.

Musk Melon - the color corresponds to the name. Reed flowers are arranged in 2 rows, have a pink-orange hue, the core is shaggy, of a darker shade.

Passion Flute - reed inflorescences are curled into a tube, colored golden yellow, the core has a greenish-mustard tint.

Terry Echinacea Double Scoop Cranberry Echinacea Double Scoop Cranberry photo

Double Scoop Cranberry is a striking cranberry-colored coneflower.

Echinacea strange Echinacea paradoxa

It is notable for the bright yellow color of its long, bent down petals. The plant forms powerful bushes and is hardy in dry summer conditions.

Echinacea in landscape design

Echinacea "Purple Emperor"

This interesting plant brought from the American continent. Echinacea is known ( Echinacea) since 1753, when Carl Linnaeus described it as rudbeckia purpurea. After a few decades, an unpretentious perennial flowering medicinal plant separated into a separate genus. It is distinguished from rudbeckia by the crimson and purple color of the flower petals, prickly, hedgehog-like bracts, long flowering(up to 3 months!), unique healing properties. And according to their own decorative properties it differs little. All this led to the fact that echinacea took up residence in our gardens for a long time. Planting and care, photos of plants - you can familiarize yourself with these materials in this article.

Preparing the landing site

First, choose a place: it should be sunny and sufficiently moist (without stagnant water). In the shade, the flowers will be smaller, while in well-lit places they can be up to 15 centimeters in diameter. On acidic soils lime is added first dolomite flour or other deoxidizers. For echinacea hybrid varieties needed good drainage. When planting plants on permanent place maintain a distance of up to 40 centimeters.

Reproduction method: division of rhizomes

This method is considered less labor-intensive; when propagating hybrid varieties, it is the only possible one. In addition, when dividing the rhizome, Echinacea can bloom already in the year of planting. It can be replanted (and even necessary to rejuvenate the plant) once every 3 to 4 years. This is usually done in early spring (if necessary, in autumn, but there is a danger that the plants will not have time to prepare for winter). The Echinacea bush must be carefully dug up and divided into parts so that each of them has 3, or even better, 4 renewal buds. Before planting, it wouldn’t hurt to treat the cuttings with a root formation stimulator.

The root collar of a planted plant cannot be buried during planting.

Propagation by seeds

Echinacea seeds

Seeds do not require stratification, but their germination rate is not very good. Seedlings can appear on the soil surface after 2 weeks and after 1.5 months.

If you want to see Echinacea flowers in the year of planting, they need to be planted as seedlings at the end of February or at least at the beginning of March.

Soil is poured into the planting containers and the seeds are planted to a depth of 1 centimeter (the distance between the rows is 2 - 3 centimeters). Sprinkle the top with soil (a thin layer) or sand and water carefully. Seeds will germinate faster if they are treated with Epin before planting, and after planting the room temperature is maintained at about 13 degrees. The emerging seedlings need careful moderate watering; the soil should not be allowed to dry out. If the seedlings have sprouted too thickly, they are thinned out and, if necessary, dropped into cups.

Echinacea shoots

The seedlings are transplanted into open ground to a permanent location in mid-May. Allowed (especially in southern regions) immediately plant the seeds in a permanent place. And so that the emerging seedlings are not pulled out along with the weeds, you can somehow mark the planting site (for example, fence decorative fence). It is possible to plant seeds before winter.

A new method of propagation of Echinacea - meristematic

It is currently used in nurseries and laboratories. The top of the plant, the meristem, is cut. Tiny seedlings are being prepared for sale. When buying merisystem seedlings, know: it is not advisable to immediately plant them in a permanent place; it is better to first transplant them into flower pot with nutritious soil and put it in a semi-dark place for about a month, during which time carry out regular but meager watering. When overwatered, such seedlings die. After the plants get stronger, they can be planted in a permanent place. If there is a need to immediately plant meristem seedlings in open ground, cover them after planting top part plastic bottle and shaded from direct rays of the sun.

Echinacea terry "Double Delight"

Care

This culture does not require any special care. Watering during drought, removing weeds, before flowering - complete feeding mineral fertilizer, and after its completion - entering phosphate fertilizers. Echinacea responds well to feeding with fermented nettle infusion.

Plants normally tolerate droughts and frosts, temperature changes, are not too demanding on the composition of the soil, but in the first years they grow slowly.

Pests and diseases rarely attack Echinacea. But with excessive moisture, plants can develop fungal diseases. In this case, the affected shoots are removed and, if necessary, treated with fungicides. Pests, as a rule, appear when there are a lot of weeds in the flower garden, on which they like to settle. Needs to be pulled out weeds and treat the flowers with special preparations.

After flowering is completed, the echinacea shoots are cut out, the rhizomes are hilled up, and compost or compost is added on top. fertile soil, can be additionally covered with leaves or twigs coniferous trees(especially in regions with cool climates).

Echinacea "Hot Lava"