Florists appreciate Echinacea for its ease of growing, beauty, unpretentiousness and, most importantly, the healing properties of the whole plant. It has become even more popular in recent years. A lot of decorative varieties with original multi-colored inflorescences have appeared.
You can sow seeds in open ground from May to July. Seedlings germinate for about two weeks at a temperature of 20-22 ° C. Seedlings should be planted 5-7 weeks after sowing. Echinacea is unpretentious in care. She loves sunlit places, moderately moist and fertile soils.
In one place it can grow up to 5 years, then it is necessary to transplant the plants. Although under comfortable conditions it will live without a transplant for up to 12-15 years. Despite the sufficient frost resistance, echinacea can freeze out during winters with little snow. Therefore, in the fall, it is better to mulch the roots of the plant with humus, peat, old rotted sawdust.
Modern varieties are so diverse that even the most sophisticated flower growers will "come to the court". A lot of high and low varieties with simple, double and bizarre inflorescences. Colors range from white, light pink, pink - orange - brown to yellow, red and bicolor.
Echinacea is a unique plant. It blooms for an unusually long time, from June to October. All varieties of Echinacea are widely used in landscape gardening. It is planted both in various flower beds and in groups, it is especially beautiful against the background of the lawn. Echinacea is combined with low perennials, ground cover stonecrop, phlox, asters.
Like dried flowers, florists love it and is widely used in the creation of flower arrangements. In addition, Echinacea has been cut for a long time.
Echinacea is an excellent source of nectar. Fragrant plants are readily visited by bees. Farms that grow echinacea in large quantities receive the most valuable medicinal honey up to 130 kg per hectare.
All parts of the plant, roots, leaves, stems, inflorescences are valuable raw materials from which more than 200 medicines are prepared. In the form of an infusion, decoction, extract, echinacea is used as an antiviral, antibacterial agent that strengthens the human immune system.
