Coneflowers are beautiful perennial daisies native to vast areas of central and eastern USA, occurring in states such as: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and many more. Since they are so widely spread across the country, and occur in such diverse climates and vegetation, from rocky plains, to open woods, thickets and prairies; featuring well-drained limestone, sand, clay, and loam soils, makes this daisy very adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions. And, although coneflowers thrive in warm, sunny locations with good summer rainfall, they will also tolerate drought, handle humidity, and even withstand snow.
Coneflowers were used medicinally by the Native American Indians as a remedy for many ailments including sore throats, coughs, snake bites, and as a painkiller, and although the plant was known by the early explorers of the 18th century, it was not until the early 1900’s that coneflowers became more popular with the settlers.
Gardeners have grown coneflowers for hundreds of years because they are reliable perennials which, once established in the garden, will continue to provide colour for many years, blooming every season for a long period from mid-summer to autumn. Like all plants in the daisy family, they also bloom profusely and each flower is born singly on a sturdy stem, making coneflowers great to pick for the vase.
Their large blooms are quite bold and distinctive with their swept-back petals and large, coppery-orange central cones. The genus name Echinacea alludes to this spiny central disk and comes from the Greek "echino", meaning ‘hedgehog’. The hairy, dark green leaves are lance-shaped and coarsely-toothed, and because the thick roots penetrate deeply into the soil and also store water, the plants are able to withstand drought.
There are nine wild species of Echinacea, and many years of garden cultivation and hybridising has resulted in the garden varieties we see today, and finding the true purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea or Echinacea angustifolia can be challenging, as most varieties available are modified versions of these species.
Today, plant breeders have taken this humble daisy to greater heights, developing beautiful garden varieties that are more sturdy and compact, and which bloom for even longer. New cultivars also come in a range of exciting new colours, and fortunately they are just as heat and drought tolerant as their original parents.
Nu-leaf Nursery grows coneflowers in a lovely selection of colours, as shown in the photographs in this article, so look out for varieties like: ‘Rose’ or’ White’ which grow about 40 to 60cm tall; ‘Tall Pink’ which grows to a height of about 60cm; and ‘Cheyenne Spirit Mixture’, an award-winning series, and a first-year flowering perennial with compact growth up to 75cm tall, and plenty of large flowers in a range of sunset colours.
Echinacaea 'PowWow' Pink Picture courtesy Ball StraathofAnother great Echinacea series is ‘PowWow’ with a height of about 50cm and a spread of 40cm. It blooms in the first year from seed and comes in shades of ‘White’, and ‘Wild Berry’ a lovely deep purple-pink.
Health Benefits:
The flowers, roots and leaves of Echinacea purpurea were the primary medicine of the North American Indians who used a root poultice to treat wounds, bites, stings, and snakebite. They gargled with it for teeth and sore gums, and drank decoctions for colds, smallpox, measles, mumps and arthritis.
Today, the flowers of Echinacea are still used to make an extremely popular herbal tea to help strengthen the immune system, and German medical studies confirm that the plant does indeed boost the immune system, and is useful in treating a number of common ailments. Today it is sold in health shops and pharmacies as syrup or in capsules, tinctures and herbal teas.
How to Make Homemade Echinacea Herbal Tea:
All parts of the plant, including petals, leaves, stems and roots can be used, except the cone. A standard herbal brew can be made by chopping a quarter cup of plant material and pouring one cup of boiling water over the chopped herb. Allow the mixture to steep for five minutes before straining and sipping. A little honey can be added for sweetness.
Take one cup daily in winter for 10 days and then stop for 3 days before resuming. Stop altogether in summer unless you feel you are coming down with something. It is not always advisable to use one herb continually without a break. You know what they say about "too much of a good thing!"
If you add a little apple cider vinegar to the tea, it can be used as a gargle for sore throats as well as a facial toner for acne and spotty skins.
Harvest and dry the plant material in summer, for use in winter preparations.
How to Make Echinacea Cream at Home:
This wonderful cream can be used to treat all minor skin ailments like pimples, rashes, itchy skin and bites. Chop up some fresh plant material and combine it with an equal quantity of good aqueous cream in a double boiler and simmer very gently for twenty minutes. Allow the mixture to cool a bit before adding a little vitamin E oil, then strain and store in a sterilised jar in the refrigerator.
In the Kitchen:
The flower petals of coneflowers are edible, and can be added to salads and desserts.
Pets:
The purple coneflower is not listed as toxic to canines, and although we know the plant is safe for human consumption, and boosts the immune system, double-blind studies haven't been conducted for use of the plant on dogs. However, some holistic veterinarians believe that the herb can be beneficial to dogs with chronic skin infections, cancer, or chronic upper respiratory infections.
In fact, owners often remark that their dogs love to chew on Echinacea growing in the garden, and this may be an indication that it is beneficial for them, just like cats and dogs like to chew on grass, but bear in mind that the ingestion of a large amount of raw plant material may result in undesirable effects that can cause discomfort for your pet, and a mild stomach upset may result, as the digestive systems of dogs are not designed to break down large quantities of plant material.
Echinacea 'Dwarf Rose Pink' Picture courtesy Nu-leaf NurseryIn the Garden & Home:
These rugged beauties are sought after by florists for fresh and dried arrangements, and are wonderful in cutting gardens, as the plants are remarkably free flowering.
In the garden coneflowers are large and showy, demanding attention wherever they are planted, making them invaluable for creating interest later in the season. They provide a bold and beautiful contrast in the mixed shrub or perennial border where they are good companions for other plants that require medium moisture levels. On large properties or farms cornflowers create dazzling borders if massed together.
These versatile daisies can be used in many garden styles, from formal to informal, and whether they are mixed with other old-fashioned beauties in cottage gardens, or combined with airy grasses and other perennials in modern wild-style plantings, coneflowers can blend in quite effortlessly. The newer dwarf cultivars are even perfect as container plants.
The lovely coneflower is wonderful for wildlife gardens as the distinct cone-shaped centres of the flowers act as a magnet for bees, butterflies, and a host of other pollinators, and if you do not cut the heads off once blooming is over, birds will flock to the seed heads in winter when food is scarce.
Companion Planting:
When contemplating what to plant with coneflowers, consider other flowering plants as well as foliage superstars to offer dimension, as well as tones and textures that will enhance their stoic beauty. Companions should have similar cultural requirements, and you can go with a wild grassland look using likeminded plants like yarrow, rudbeckia, gaillardia, and an assortment of ornamental grasses, or you can go in the opposite direction and plant coneflowers in a cottage garden where they mingle with daisies and roses. Such is the versatility of coneflowers.
In the herb garden coneflowers go well with taller growing perennial Basil, and catmint (Nepeta mussinii) with its spikes of bluish-purple flowers, and while your echinacea is bringing in the pollinators, catmint will help out by repelling several common pests, such as aphids and squash bugs.
Coneflowers are fantastic in or near vegetable and fruit gardens because they attract pollinators, and are good companions for eggplant, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chillies, peppers and tomatoes.
Echinacea 'Dwarf White' Picture courtesy Nu-leaf NurseryCultivation and Harvesting:
Coneflowers are very adaptable and easy to grow, tolerating wind, heat, humidity and poor soil. They thrive in the temperate summer rainfall regions of South Africa, both inland and at the coast, withstanding dry conditions and even fluctuations in humidity. They also grow well in the winter rainfall regions as long as the soil drains well and they can be watered in summer. In mild winter climates the plants may remain evergreen, but these herbaceous perennials are also fully hardy to cold, frost and snow, and in these regions the plant will go totally dormant in winter, re-emerging again in spring.
Coneflowers are native to open areas, prairies, and valleys where they are the most exposed to sun, so keep this in mind when choosing your planting location. However, they can take some light shade, and in extremely hot or dry regions partial midday and afternoon shade would be preferable.
They are not fussy about soil pH, but dislike both very dry and very boggy soils, preferring to grow in good, fertile, well-drained soil. They will also grow in semi-clay soils that drain well, and in very poor and sandy soils, where the addition of generous quantities of compost, manure, or other organic material to the planting holes will benefit the plants greatly.
Coneflowers can be planted in spring, summer, or autumn, but in regions with very cold winters, allow sufficient time for the plants to establish themselves before winter sets in. Spring and summer are the most favoured times for planting out coneflowers in South Africa, and you can start with trays or small pots of established plants from your local garden centre, which is ideal for smaller plantings. Alternatively, for larger plantings, you can sow seeds directly into the garden, but bear in mind that many varieties of Echinacea will often not bloom reliably until their second year in the garden.
In order to allow for good air circulation between the plants, always space coneflowers correctly, depending on the variety grown. This goes a long way to prevent fungal diseases, and is especially important in humid regions. Regular weeding is a must because the plants don't compete well with weeds.
Bear in mind, that although coneflowers are notorious for their ability to withstand periods of drought, they do this by going dormant during times of severe stress, so to keep your plants healthy and blooming in the garden, water them moderately throughout summer. Young plants should be watered regularly until they are established, but allow the soil to almost dry out before really soaking your plants again. This is especially crucial right after planting as the correct watering practices will help your plant establish itself. How frequently you water will also depend on your soil, and sandy soils will require more frequent watering than richer, loamy soils. If you are growing them in an area where humidity tends to be high, allowing the soil to dry out in between watering is crucial.
To conserve moisture in summer, and to protect the roots in cold winter areas, mulch the roots in spring, and again in autumn. Coneflowers are not heavy feeders, but will benefit from an annual application of a balanced organic fertiliser in early spring or early summer.
Coneflowers are pretty low maintenance once you get them established and adapted to their new soil. Throughout the first season, light pruning may be required as your plant starts to grow and the old leaves die off. Following the first season, the same pruning practice applies and can help maintain the plant’s shape and structure.
Echinacea 'Tall Pink' Picture courtesy Nu-leaf NurseryConeflowers usually re-bloom without deadheading, but removing the spent flowers will prolong flowering and improve the general appearance of the plants. The purple coneflower will freely self-seed if some of the seed heads are left on the plants. However, newer hybrids produce sterile seeds and won’t sow themselves. In autumn, cut back the dead flower stems right down to the ground; but leave a few on the plants and on the ground for the birds.
Division of coneflowers is not the most popular method of propagation, but it is possible. It is best to let your plant grow for 4 years before considering division. Over time, your plant will begin to form new plant shoots in clumps of growth. These clumps can be divided, or broken into smaller bunches in spring or autumn. Cuttings made from roots that are "pencil-sized" will develop into plants when started in autumn or early winter. Cuttings of basal shoots taken in the spring may be rooted when treated with rooting hormones.
Purchasing plants from a garden centre is the quickest and easiest option for most home gardeners, but if you wish, seed can be sown directly into garden beds, or seedling trays. Seeds grow easily when sown in early spring, even when you still expect another frost or two, but they can take up to 6 weeks to germinate. Make sure to keep the soil moist, but not waterlogged. Seed can also be sown in late summer but will not bloom until next season. Echinacea can also be successfully grown in pots indoors, and then moved outside once the weather has warmed up a bit.
You can also harvest seeds from your own plants to use next year, but it is important to keep in mind that some hybridized varieties of coneflower are sterile and will not produce viable seed. Select a few fully mature and ripened flower heads to cut, leaving a nice long stem. Hang the flowers upside down enclosed in paper bags, and once the dry seeds have fallen out, spread them out on newspaper for a couple of days to finish drying. They will keep in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid for up to a year. Seeds should be sown directly into the ground after the danger of frost has passed.
Problems, Pests & Diseases:
Healthy coneflowers are not susceptible to serious insect pests, but watch out for snails, aphids and slugs.
Fungal diseases may become a problem, especially in very humid regions, so inspect your plants regularly for powdery mildew, bacterial spots, and grey mould which can occasionally become a problem. If you are growing them in an area where humidity tends to be high, correct spacing and good air flow around the leaves is essential, and allowing the soil to dry out in between watering is crucial.
Caution:
The information contained within this website is for educational purposes only, documenting the traditional uses of specific plants as recorded through history. Always seek advice from a medical practitioner before starting a home treatment programme.
If you or your pet has plant allergies, always exercise caution when using edible flowers. The purple coneflower is not listed as toxic to canines, but the ingestion of a large amount may result in undesirable effects that can cause discomfort for your pet, and a mild stomach upset may result, as the digestive systems of dogs are not designed to break down large quantities of plant material.