Some cultivars have lighter leaves, while others have darker green leaves. This plant’s leaves are green and do not exhibit any color change during the fall. Individual leaves are 4 to 8 inches long. Cauline leaves are slightly heart-shaped at the base. Pinnate venation on the surface is evident, along with the leaves’ serrated margins (3). The leaves of purple coneflowers are green ovate to ovate-lanceolate, simple, and thin. The stems are mostly unbranched and rough-hairy textured. This perennial herb typically grows about 0.5 to 2 ft in height from a woody rhizome. It blooms for months and makes excellent cut flowers or landscape focal point when planted in clumps. One of the easiest to grow and readily available perennials is the purple coneflower plant. The flowers attract butterflies and birds and make excellent cut flowers for floral arrangements.īecause of their beauty and growth habit, purple coneflowers are often planted in groups for entranceways, perennial beds, naturalized prairie, or woodlands. These plants are upright and coarse-textured, which blends well with fine-textured perennials in a mixed border. Highly-valued as ornamentals, purple coneflowers radiate beautiful blooms that give colors to home gardens and commercial landscapes. The flowers are used to make tea for boosting the immune system. It has immunostimulatory, anti-inflammatory, and therapeutic effects (2). Up to this day, the purple coneflowers are used as an herbal remedy against several health conditions and discomfort. They are also used for treatment for various ailments, such as toothache, coughs, snakebite, colds, and sore throat (1). Purple coneflowers are popular as a painkiller.

The indigenous people and tribes of the Great Plains are one of the known groups that recognize the medicinal values of the Echinacea plants. Other common names of purple coneflowers are eastern purple coneflower, Kansas snakeroot, hedgehog coneflower, echinacea, snakeroot, Indian head, scurvy root, and narrow-leaved purple coneflower. The species name purpurea, on the other hand, means purple, referring to the plant’s purple flowers. The genus name Echinacea comes from the Greek word “ echinos” which translates to a hedgehog or sea urchin – a reference to the flowerhead’s resemblance to a hedgehog. Purple coneflowers or Echinacea purpurea is part of the Asteraceae family and Echinacea genus.

Purple Coneflowers Facts Plant Name and Origin Echinacea purpurea ‘Superbrook’s Crimson Star’.For beds, borders, mass, or wildflower plantings. Dried: Harvest when the cone is raised and has turned golden. For harvesting the cone, harvest when the cone is raised and has turned golden. HARVEST: Fresh: For harvesting the flower, harvest when the petals are expanding. Division is necessary only when the plants appear crowded. SOIL REQUIREMENTS: Average, well-drained soil. Sow in the fall to allow the oscillating temperatures and natural rain to stimulate germination. Direct seed: Sow in spring when soil is warm, 65☏ (18☌). Harden off and transplant outside in late spring or early summer. Transplant into cell packs or larger containers after the first true leaves appear, 30-40 days after sowing the seed. SOWING: Transplant (recommended): Sow 8-10 weeks before planting outside.

When to transplant purple coneflower