Garden Series

Echinacea Head

watercolor, 11"x14"

Echinacea is a well known herb.  Echinacea is primarily used to reduce the symptoms and duration of the common cold and flu and to alleviate the symptoms associated with them, such as sore throat (pharyngitis), cough, and fever.  Many herbalists also recommend echinacea to help boost the activity of the immune system and to help the body fight infections. In Germany, use of echinacea is restricted to no longer than eight weeks at a time. This is because after eight consecutive weeks, echinacea losses its effectiveness and may even diminish immune function. Regular users of this herb, need "break" periods – namely, periods of time that they are not taking echinacea in order for it to maintain its ability to enhance immune function and fight infection.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsHerbs/Echinaceach.html

Echinacea is a taprooted perennial found on open, dry prairies in Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, the Dakotas, eastern Montana, eastern Colorado, and parts of Canada. To grow Echinacea plant them where they will get full sun. Common species do best in clay type soil that has good drainage, is light- textured or gravelly. Echinacea will not tolerate wet feet, and does best at an alkaline pH (will tolerate highly-alkaline soil). Echinacea species usually grow on relatively poor soil without fertilizer.

http://www.umt.edu/mnps/growechinacea.htm

Personally, I have found that Echinacea grows easily from it's own seeds providing they are left to winter over for the next year.