Native Plants

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Sunday - March 28, 2010

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation
Title: Time to plant echinacea seeds in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

When should I plant echinacea seeds in Austin?

ANSWER:

From our Native Plant Database, here are the Propagation Instructions for Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower).

"Propagation Material: Seeds
Description: Seeds may be sown outside in late fall or stored, stratified and sown in the spring. Plants can be multiplied by making root divisions in early spring however division seems to stimulate the development of too many stems and too few flowers.
Seed Collection: Collect mature seedheads in the fall and break them open to extract seeds.
Seed Treatment: Cold-moist stratification for two months improves germination."

There are 9 species of the genus Echinacea in our database, of which 7 are native to Texas. We looked for Propagation Instructions in the other 6 and found either the same instructions for planting in late Fall or no instructions at all. We are assuming that the instructions above would apply to any species you wish to plant in Austin.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Echinacea angustifolia