When I first started my own gardens, I asked my Mom to tell me some of her favorite, easy perennials.  The Coneflower, also known as Euchinea, was one of the first flowers that she recommended to me, after the Daylily of course.  More to come on Daylilies later. The Coneflower has been the perfect edition to my garden and it has become one of my favorites.

Coneflowers/Echinacea, a member of the daisy family, are hardy perennials.  Being a perennial means that they come back year after year. These flowers tend to do very well in zones 3 to 9, depending on the variety that you choose.  Planting zones for the United States can be checked at the USDA website.  

Coneflowers/Echinacea have blooms with raised cone like heads in the middle, hence the name, and the petals can be various colors depending on the variety you choose.  Some of the colors available are; white, yellow, pink, red, orange, purple, and cream.

Their bright colored blooms tend to attract lots of butterflies and bees and the seeds are loved by songbirds. These flowers tend to bloom Summer through Fall and the blooms themselves last quite a while.  To promote more blooms you can snip off the dead ones. These plants are great at self seeding. You can leave the later blooms intact and let them go to seed in the general area, the songbirds will love to feed on them.  I usually snip off the dead heads and leave them in my garden in general area that I want more Coneflowers. After a couple of years of doing this, I now have a dense garden of them, when I originally started with only one plant. 

Coneflowers love full sun, but can stand part sun, as mine get some mid afternoon shade and have been doing fantastic.  They like well drained, average soil and are heat and drought resistant. They still need to be watered on occasion. If they are newly planted, you do need to water them regularly until they are well established.  You also want to consider watering throughout the summer season if you had a really dry spring, in order to help promote a lot of blooms.  

Depending on the variety that you purchase, they can grow between 2 to 4 feet in height.  They look great along the back part of my garden in front of my windows. They are great in bouquets, adding a nice pop of color.  Some varieties have a scent to them, and others do not. I have the Cheyenne Spirit variety, and I have never noticed any scent to them.  

You can start Coneflower from seeds, like mine have done through the self seeding process year after year.  Or you can purchase a well established plant from your local garden nursery. If you decide to do yours from seed, be aware that it will take a few years before you see blooms.  This is why I recommend to start with an established plant. If you find that you want to divide or transplant your Coneflowers, you will want to do that either in the Spring or fall.

Medicinal Use

Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower, can be used for medicinal purposes, and is one of the more common varieties.   A lot of the newer strands have been crossed for color and might not provide the same medicinal benefits.  If you know of other varieties of Coneflower that offer the same medicinal value, please let me know! Echinacea has been used to help shorten the length of a cold. 

I have never used my Coneflower/Echinacea for anything besides ornamental purposes, so I do not have any personal experience with harvesting and processing it for medicinal use.  I advise people to use caution and to check with your doctor first. I found a couple of great sights for you to check out if you are interested in harvesting your plant for medicinal purposes. 

Off the Grid News talks about how to use and prepare Echinacea purpurea.

Growing Up Herbal gives a good overview and it is a great blog about using natural items. I highly encourage you to check it out!

If you don’t have the Coneflower/Echinacea in your garden yet, I hope you give this beautiful, hardy perennial a try! I don’t think you will be disappointed.  Until next time…

Wishing you all the best!