From free moves this week up to the deep plays.
Put echinacea in a sunny, well-drained bed and it becomes a late-summer magnet for bees and butterflies, then a winter seed source for finches. No feeding needed.
Plant in groups of three or more. Pollinators find a clump faster than a single stem.
Let some cones dry on the plant, then break them apart and collect the seed. One stand reseeds a whole border for free, year after year.
Wear gloves. The dried cone is spiky, which is what echinacea, the hedgehog plant, is named for.
The stiff stems and long vase life make echinacea a genuine cut-flower crop. Pick when the cone has just opened for the longest display.
Cut in the cool of the morning and strip the lower leaves before it goes in water.
Dry the flowers and leaves and steep them as a tea at the first sign of a cold. The tradition is real. Keep the expectation modest, since the trials are weak.
A faint tingle on the tongue means the preparation is still active.
In autumn of the third or fourth year, lift part of a clump, wash the root, and tincture it in alcohol. This is the strongest traditional form and the one most studies use.
Take only part of the clump and replant the crown so the plant lives on.