I have done some searching on the best way to propagate Echinaceas, and the advice I found was to do stem cuttings. I did as was suggested; I cut a short stem without any buds, cut off the lower leaves, cut the remaining leaves in half, dipped it in rooting hormone, placed it in moist light soil, put it in bright light but no sun, and covered it with a plastic bag. Every cutting eventually curled up, or became limp and weak. I have had NO success in rooting even one!!! Is this really not the best way to propagate Echinaceas? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
echinacea (coneflower) is propogated by seeds or by splitting it out. i've never heard of doing cuttings and rooting them. dig up the plant and split it out at root-level. make sure to leave a decent amount of roots on each section. replant and make sure to water well until it's gotten re-established. generally, they are extremely hardy and can easily deal with drought...after being transplanted they're a bit touchy - so water well until it gets back on track and expect some wilting until it is. seeds are easy-easy! once the flower is done and the seeds are ripe, you just sprinkle the seeds on the ground and lightly cover or plant the whole seed head. new plants will sprout next season and grow - no flowers though. the second year they bloom and then every year after that. you know the seeds are ready when you touch the seed-head and the tips prick your fingers. if it's still soft/supple, the seeds aren't ready yet.
Joclyn, Thank you for your reply and advice. Dividing the root is not a possibility for me now because my plants are too small with no basal growth yet. But, I will try the seed method. I just thought that when you propagate from seeds, you do not end up with a duplicate of the mother plant.
that only applies to hybrids. seeds from hybrids (two different varieties of the same thing cross-polinated) don't usually produce identical because the seeds revert back to one of the parent plants. if you've got one of the 'usual' types, such as a purple or pink, then the seeds will probably produce exactly what you have. if you've got one of the newer types - green or orange, then you may get the same or something different. you may like it, though, so it's worth giving it a shot as it's really no effort (or money) on your part. if you want to divide, then just wait until next year. actually, if you just got the plants this year, give them two years to grow before splitting (that's what i usually do).
