Echinacea (Echinacea) is a flowering ornamental herbaceous perennial from the Astrov family, whose homeland is considered to be the eastern part of North America. The genus consists of 9 species, but the most popular is Echinacea "Purple", which has medicinal properties and is used in folk and official medicine. There are many of its hybrids and varieties that are popular in culture. These are Sonnenlach with dark red flowers, Julia with orange flowers, Cleopatra with bright yellow flowers, Passion Flute with golden flowers, Cantaloupe with pinkish-orange flowers.
The culture consists of rhizomes, high straight stems with a rough surface up to 1-1.5 meters long, oval basal and stem leaves with denticles along the edge, large inflorescences of white, pink and red flowers and fruits - achenes.
Planting echinacea
When to plant echinacea
Most often, planting is carried out after the plant has multiplied by dividing the bush, and this procedure can be carried out in early spring or early autumn.
Site selection and soil preparation
The echinacea planting site should be well lit by the sun during the day. If there is acidic soil on the future flower garden, you will need to dig it up together with lime. The most favorable place will be a fertile area after deep digging with a slightly alkaline or neutral soil composition. Light sandy soils and areas with high moisture content will not work for the plant.
How to plant echinacea
Planting young seedlings, bush divisions and seedlings purchased in containers have their own characteristics. Seedlings are planted in planting holes 5 centimeters deep. At the bottom of the hole there is a small layer of compost. Sprinkle the plants with soil mixture and watered abundantly. For the cut, a hole is prepared with a depth of about 20 centimeters. A compost layer on the bottom and watering after planting is also required. It is recommended to plant seedlings purchased in containers by transshipment together with an earthen lump. In a hole about 40 centimeters deep, you need to pour a soil mixture of sand, garden soil and compost (in equal amounts) for about a third of the volume, and then place a seedling there. After filling the planting pit with earth, echinacea is watered.
Outdoor Echinacea Care
Caring for a flowering perennial does not take much time and effort, but requires attention and care.
Watering
Flowers require frequent and abundant watering, which is best done after sunset. One watering a day will be sufficient.
Weed control
Weed vegetation causes great harm to ornamental crops, therefore it is recommended to weed regularly and in a timely manner.It is necessary to remove weeds at the initial stage, when they have not yet begun to take nutrients useful for echinacea from the soil.
Top dressing and fertilizers
In the first year after planting, the flowers do not need to be fed. Fertilizers are recommended to be applied from the second year of life. It is necessary to maintain the flowers with additional fertilizing in early spring before flowering and after flowering. A complete fertilizer for the crop is a mixture of wood ash and rotted manure.
Pruning
When the flowering period ends, seeds ripen on the plants. They can be harvested for further reproduction. When seed collection is not carried out, it is worth pruning wilted buds along with part of the stem.
Echinacea after flowering
Seed collection
The collection of seed material is carried out gradually, because the seeds do not all ripen at the same time. The collection begins at the end of the summer season. The seeds are in the middle of the basket-shaped inflorescence. The maturity of the seeds is determined by the darkened center of the flower. It is more convenient to collect them with gloves. It is recommended to lightly dry the seed and sow it immediately in open ground, since its germination capacity remains for a very short time.
Preparing for winter
The cold-resistant plant will perfectly survive the winter without shelter in the presence of a large snow cover or in moderate cold. If your area is dominated by severe frosts in the absence of snow during the winter months, then it is worth taking care of the plants in advance. In the first year after planting, young crops definitely need a protective structure to keep warm. In the fall, around the last week of October, all stems are pruned and mulched. The compost mulch should cover the root collar, and on top the entire flower garden should be covered with a layer of fallen leaves and spruce branches.
Reproduction of echinacea
Reproduction by dividing the bush
A favorable time for this method is mid-spring or autumn. It is recommended to use plants four or five years old for separation. The bush must be carefully dug out, after watering it abundantly. Each divided part should have 3-4 buds of growth.
Seed propagation
In early spring, seeds are sown on open flower beds, sprinkled with a thin layer of soil and watered. The temperature favorable for seed germination is 13-15 degrees Celsius. With spring temperature drops, the development and growth of delicate seedlings can be threatened. Therefore, it is better to use the seedling method.
Sowing seedlings is carried out at the end of winter. Planting boxes are filled with a substrate, seeds are sown to a depth of 5 millimeters, ground with a thin layer of soil, the crops are sprayed from a spray bottle and left in a warm room until shoots appear. After transplanting strong seedlings into open ground, full care will be required, which consists in regular watering, weeding and loosening. The first bloom will come next season.
Diseases and pests
Powdery mildew on Echinacea is the result of excess nitrogen content in top dressing, abundant and prolonged precipitation, as well as sudden temperature changes. Control measures - treatment of plants with Bordeaux liquid or colloidal sulfur.
Numerous spots on the leaves (cercospora or septoria) can completely destroy the culture, as they weaken its immunity. At an early stage, all affected leaves are removed, and in case of severe damage, fungicide treatment will be required.
There is no way to save flowers from viral diseases. Signs of the virus are yellowed and drying leaves, deformed peduncles. To protect healthy crops, it is recommended to urgently destroy diseased specimens (in a remote area), and shed a plot of land with a strong manganese solution.
To combat harmful insects, special chemicals are used - "Karbofos", "Actellik". Most often, Echinacea attracts drooling pennits and bedbugs.When slugs appear, you will have to collect them by hand, and as a preventive measure, you must use folk advice. For example, scatter a large amount of walnut shells around the flower garden. It will be a serious obstacle to the movement of gastropods.
With strict observance of all the rules for growing and caring for diseases and pests, there will be no.
Benefits of Echinacea
Echinacea is a medicinal herb, which (in the leaves, inflorescences and rhizomes) contains a huge amount of nutrients and elements. Essential oils and organic acids, tannins and polysaccharides, resins and fatty oils, macro (calcium and potassium) and trace elements (cobalt, silver, zinc, manganese and others) - all this allows you to fight many complex diseases. Fresh juice, tinctures, decoctions and other preparations from echinacea kill germs and fungi, heal wounds, strengthen the immune system, have a sedative and antiviral effect, increase male strength and accelerate blood clotting.
The medicinal perennial is known in many European and Asian countries, it is popular in Russia and the CIS countries. Official medicine compares the medicinal properties of echinacea to ginseng. Drugs based on this culture (for example, echinacin) are able to cure various inflammatory diseases associated with the respiratory system and chronic infectious diseases (for example, tuberculosis).
In folk medicine, there are many recipes for decoctions and tinctures that can be prepared at home if the flower grows on the site.
Tincture for the treatment of depression and overwork, as well as for the fight against various infections is prepared from freshly cut echinacea inflorescences. A half-liter jar must be filled to the top with flowers, filled with vodka, tightly closed and put in a dark place. After 40 days, the tincture is ready for use. It is filtered and taken 30 minutes before meals in a diluted form. For 100 milliliters of water - 15 drops of tincture.
A decoction made from the root part is recommended for colds and infectious diseases, as well as for chronic fatigue. The root must be crushed, filled with water, put in a water bath for thirty minutes, and then set aside for gradual cooling. For half a liter of water - about 2 tablespoons of chopped roots. Strain the broth before use. Drink before meals 3-4 times a day, one or two tablespoons.
For all its usefulness and popularity, echinacea can cause an allergic reaction. That is why you should not self-medicate. It is safer to take medications based on this herb only after consulting a specialist. This is especially true for people with various chronic and acute infectious diseases, as well as nursing mothers and pregnant women.
