Echinacea is an amazing plant that came to Europe from North America. A huge healing power is hidden in it, it is widely used both in folk medicine and in pharmacology, it is also very decorative, has a modest and unpretentious character in communication with amateur gardeners, lives in one place for a long time, treating sores of the body and soul. This is echinacea. Planting and caring for it has long been known as non-hassle. In cuts, her gorgeous flowers are fragrant throughout the house and do not fade for a long time, for which not only gardeners love her. The species Echinacea purpurea was introduced into the culture in the seventeenth century. At first, an error occurred in the definition, but forty years later it was described as a separate genus. The name comes from the "hedgehog" receptacle, Echinacea translated from Greek - "thorn".
Appearance
Perennial herb 1.5 meter plant with beautiful large flowers resembling chamomile on straight and long rough stems. Many-headed, powerfully branched rhizome - edible, burning to taste. It blooms from July to September - two months. Fruiting tubular flowers, between which spiny bracts sit. In oblong faceted achenes up to three thousand small seeds. Such, at first glance, is a wonderful echinacea.
Landing and care
Due to its decorative effect, Echinacea occupies the most prominent place in the garden: both in separate groups on the lawns, shaded by less tall perennials, and near the trees, emphasizing their height. Large flowers, wonderful color and pleasant aroma - what other requirements can be presented to a garden plant? All this in abundance has echinocia.
Planting and care also do not bring gardeners much trouble. The most convenient culture for growing! Breeders bred varieties with a color that is not traditional for echinacea: in addition to the usual pink and raspberry, now you can grow orange, yellow and white flowers. Some varieties with a particularly fragrant aroma. To maintain a healthy and decorative appearance, and to extend the flowering time of the bush, it is necessary to cut off withered and dried flowers, and after the heat of the day, completely spray the plant with water. Echinacea will thank a lot more flowers. The photo shows the generous splendor of this plant. And if you do not remove the lateral processes of a faded central inflorescence, they will have a different shade of color for the petals, as in the picture.
Breeding
There are two types of propagation of Echinacea: by seed or vegetatively. Rhizome is divided in early spring or late autumn. Seeds germinate for a long time - forty days. And here it requires a lot of moisture and heat Echinacea. Landing and care (or rather, the difficulties of leaving) are just that. It is better to sow the seeds in the greenhouse, and the finished seedlings are already planted in a permanent place. To see the flowers of Echinacea in the year of sowing, you need to start work in February. Seeds are sown in a drawer with the earth a centimeter deep, sprinkled with a thin layer of the same soil or sand, moistened carefully. Heat should not be - a maximum of thirteen degrees. By mid-May, Echinacea is already being planted in the wild, in open ground, in a sunny place. In watering you need to be moderate. This plant does not like much water, and suffers from a lack of it. Echinacea prefers the sun and well-drained soil. Planting and care include, as already mentioned, proper watering and lighting, and, of course, you need to cover the flower garden for the winter in the northern regions. In other areas, it already winters wonderfully. Echinacea needs to be protected from weeds, but it copes with diseases and pests.