Echinacea or, as it is also called, deer root, has become popular solely because of its vibrant colors and decorative properties. It is noteworthy that in their homeland, in South America, echinacea was used as a remedy for colds, as well as in the case of snake bites.
When growing Echinacea, you do not need to spend a lot of energy on creating special conditions for this plant. So if you still think, to be or not to be a given flower on your site, then decide and plant. After all, this flower is not only beautiful
purple flowers, but also an abundance of medicinal properties that can be very useful.
Before planting Echinacea, it is better to prepare a site for it in advance. If at this place for many years nothing has grown, except for weeds, you should carefully clean the place from them. If required, apply organic fertilizer to the soil. As for lighting, this flower prefers to warm its leaves in the sun, so it is better to choose a site where nothing prevents the penetration of sunlight.
You should also take into account the fact that in the first year of life, Echinacea grows very slowly, but the next year more than compensates for last year's slow growth.
When
growing Echinacea, seeds are best sown for seedlings in early March. Ready seedlings are planted in the ground around the second decade of May, but if the month is rather cold, it is better to wait a bit.
Seeds can be sown directly in the open ground, but then the seedlings will be very weak and unfriendly. After planting seedlings in a permanent place, they must be carefully looked after. Taking into account the fact that plants grow extremely slowly, they should be weeded in time from weeds, which can simply strangle young flowers, and constantly loosen the ground.
Echinacea purpurea is also very popular in Russia . Growing this plant is no different from caring for simple echinacea.
Do not expect from the plant abundant flowering in the first year of life. Some single specimens can bloom, but the inflorescences will be very small.
If you decide to plant echinacea solely because of its healing properties, it will be useful for you to know how to properly prepare flowers for storage.
In the first year of life, it is better not to touch such a plant as echinacea. Flowers, the cultivation of which requires a lot of time at the beginning of their growth, should not be subjected to mechanical stress.
From the second year of life, you can begin to harvest the roots of plants. As a rule, this is done in the fall. At the end of September, the roots are dug up, washed and placed in a well-ventilated drying room.
When growing Echinacea for treatment, you can use the whole plant, even the stems and leaves. They are cut off during flowering plants and dried in a cool dark room, for example, in the attic. Decoctions made from Echinacea herbs increase immunity during colds.
As we see, when growing Echinacea, you can use it to decorate your garden plot, or you can plant it solely for the purpose of obtaining herbs that have medicinal properties.