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Echinacea purpurea sowing question

14 years ago

I'm a newbie to winter sowing and just wondered if anyone else has had luck winter sowing Echinacea purpurea / Purple Coneflower? Can't decide if I should wait till spring to sow these in milk jugs or not...

My seed packet says no pre-treatment necessary and that seeds will germinate "upon sowing in a warm location". The packet also says that the seeds need cold, dry storage until then... but I think I've seen folks mention on here that they've winter sown their Echinacea seeds. Just wondering ...

thanks!

Featured Answer

goodgarden

2 years ago

FYI . Butterflies and bees will recognize the straight native, Echinacea Purpurea. The others, cultivars, not so much. Leave the seed head for the birds winter food.

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Comments (14)

token28001
14 years ago
I've been sowing them since fall. Last year's seeds came up fine. Just don't bury them deeply. Press them into the soil and leave them alone.

You can sow these almost any time of the year.
just1morehosta
14 years ago
Hi Token, You are in zone 7b, would we here in zone 5 be the same for sowing now?I still get confused,thanks.
cAROL
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I'd strongly suggest that you leave the top soil out. The greatest top soil on earth turns into something quite different when used in a container. Real soil needs to be insitu for the 'system' in the term 'soil system' to work. I, too, would use a decent peat based potting mix, perhaps adding plenty of extra perlite to it. Bagged potting mixes are (typically) peat-based, so no reason to add extra, imo. You are getting a bit of a late start in your location. Some of the plants on your list are not known for their heat tolerance. But it's always worth experimenting. I always germinate my seeds in rows, in germination flats. The seeds are sown closely and I can get a couple of hundred in each flat. I'll use bottom heat until they germinate, then allow them to develop their second set of leaves 'au natural'. I'll then transplant the babies into their individual containers, usually decent sized plastic cell packs (1204s) or 2 inch square pots. All of the stuff can be sterilized from year to year and stacked for storage. Here is a link that might be useful:
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Echinacea purpurea Perennial in my zone?
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I would check it out on the PLANTS database (see link). You can search in your state for native species or perennial species or whatnot. Jeff Here is a link that might be useful: PLANTS database
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hello, Is echinacea purpurea Perennial in my zone?
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Comments (7)
Don't fixate on your zone. Tell us about the living soil conditions in your area and how you are thinking of planting. In soil, pot etc. Your info state you are in Pakistan. Most of the posters here know nothing about Pakistan other than what we see on tv. From a fellow worker I know it has many contrasts as far as areas to grow in. Since I live at the border of Kansas and Missouri I am aware of what misinformation people have of different areas. Some have asked how close we are to the desert, indians, fur trappers etc. Please give more information on growing conditions. I temperature wise the purpurea might live but there are other echinacea's that might do better as they need more or less moisture.
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Comments (9)
Those early blooms might depend on how it was grown at the nursery, and perhaps even where (i.e. a warmer zone). I received a hosta in the spring via mail order, and it came with buds, whereas my hostas in the ground were barely up yet. The mail-order hosta bloomed (quite early, obviously) and I'm not expecting further blooms this year. It being a new plant, I would deadhead that one bloom you had so any energy goes into the roots and not into making seed. In the future, you don't have to deadhead, if you want the echinacea to seed around, or if you like the winter interest or want to leave seed for the birds. I will say that despite the birds, my echinacea reseed a little too much for me. It's not a problem, as the seedlings pull out fairly easily, but now I only leave about half the seed heads up for the winter. That way the birds get some, there is something to poke above the snow, and there is not as much weeding for me to do in spring. Good luck! :)
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token28001
14 years ago
It's native to the Eastern US. I would think anyone from Texas to Florida to New York would be fine.

USDA PLANTS PROFILE
trudi_d
14 years ago
Gosh, these are one of the best wildflowers to WS.

The essence of a wldflower is that it reseeds in the wild. WS is based on any plants ability to reseed in a Temperate Climate. You'll have a lot of success if you just keep it simple. If it reseeds you can WS it.
topie
Original Author
14 years ago
Oh, OK, thank you! Token, thanks for the tips on seed depth, and Trudi thank you so much for the overall info...it makes winter sowing sound much simpler than those descriptions on the seed packets!

I have about 24 containers of various perennials sown so far... I'm excited I can sow the Echinacea now too...

Thanks again.
docmom_gw
14 years ago
I've sown echinacea two years in a row. Now, I have so many plants I don't even bother to collect seeds. And every year the plants I have double or triple in size. These are great plants for wintersowing. But remember, they might not bloom the first year.

Martha
token28001
14 years ago
Martha's right. Out of about a dozen plants, I had two that bloomed the first year. Magnus was one of them. The rest just formed little clumps of foliage that sprouted huge leaves. Those leaves have died off this winter. I'm not brave enough to go searching for the basal growth this morning. It's 16 degrees.
topie
Original Author
14 years ago
That's so good to know the echs take to winter sowing. I have some seeds that I collected myself from the echs in our garden, and then some packaged seeds I'll try too. That's good to know the stuff I'm winter sowing right now won't bloom the first year...had that feeling...I'm planning to "cheat" a little and sow some annuals like marigolds and zinnias in the spring, just for some color until next year.
docmom_gw
14 years ago
Topie,
I used to garden with only perennials, because I wanted a garden that would come back each year without constant attention from me. However, after trying a few annuals, I now love them for their season-long blooms and the variety you can achieve from year to year. A mix of both is definitely beneficial to a diverse garden.

Martha
floodthelast
14 years ago
Just as an aside, I'm in z5 as well and I started about a dozen echs last year by sowing them around now. Go for it.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
14 years ago
With regards to anything that reseeds being able to be wintersown, and this being my first year, I'm under the impression from the info I've read that not only do reseeding perennials do well with wintersowing, but an annual that reseeds will also do well. Since I'm on the 5/4 zone border often those "annuals" are plants that may be hardy only up to zone 6 or so, sometimes even zone 7, so the plant may die each year but the seeds will still germinate after the colder winters. Floodthelast, you can go to the FAQ and get a list of "hardy annuals" that do great wintersowing for that reason.

If I'm wrong, please correct me! Still learning...

Deanna
jmc7104
14 years ago
New to winter sowing??
There is really only two bits of information on a commercial pack of seeds that pertain to us. Annual or Perannual and height. jim
gardenweed_z6a
14 years ago
Even though it means waiting a year for blooms, I'm WSing lots of E. 'White Swan' and purpurea seeds I harvested from my own plants. I checked and 'White Swan' comes true from seed. I need to plant lots and lots of them--the bunnies love 'em. Even stripped of their leaves by marauding wildlife, they still produce blooms. They're native, beautiful and tough, plus the bees and butterflies love the flowers.

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