How to grow Echinacea from seed indoors

 

The Echinacea purpurea is also known as purple coneflower and is a garden classic perennial plant, and also one of the most popular native wildflowers. Purple coneflower may be grown from seed sown early indoors and transplanted outside after frost, or they can be easily sown directly in the garden in summer. Growing echinacea in pots is also possible.

 

When to Start Echinacea Seeds Indoors

-         Sow the echinacea seeds indoors eight to ten weeks before outdoor planting date in spring using a seed starting kit.

-         Cover the echinacea seeds lightly with about ¼ inch of seed starting mix.

-         Keep the soil moist at sixty-five to seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

-         The echinacea seedlings emerge in ten to twenty days.

-         As soon as the echinacea seedlings emerge make sure you provide plenty of light on a sunny windowsill or grow the echinacea seedlings three to four inches beneath fluorescent plant lights turned on sixteen hours per day, off for eight hours at night. You can raise the lights as the plants grow taller. Incandescent bulbs will not actually work for this process because they will get too hot. Most plants require a dark period to grow, don’t leave lights on for twenty-four hours.

-         The echinacea seedlings do not need much fertilizer, feed when they are about three to four weeks old using a starter solution, make sure it is according to the manufacturer’s directions.

-         If you are growing the plant in small cells, you may need to transplant the seedlings to three or four inch pots when the seedlings have at least two pairs of true leaves before transplanting them to the garden so they will have enough room to develop strong roots.

-         Before planting them in the garden, the seedling plants need to be “hardened off”. You can accustom the young plants to outdoor conditions by moving them to a sheltered place outside for a week. Make sure you protect them from wind and hot sun at first. If frost threatens at night you can easily cover or bring the containers indoors, and then take them out again in the morning. This hardening off process will toughens the plant’s cell structure and also reduces transplant shock and scalding.