Re: Echinacea purpurea

Sue?  How rich the soil?  What is the pH?  Approximately. 
Echinacea are wild plants of field & prairie.  They like 
relatively lean (though not as for herbs) soil that is 
definitely on the alkaline side.  You might just get out the 
litmus paper.  If you're leaning to acid, try working a bit of 
lime into the surrounding soil and water in well.  See if that 
helps a bit.  Is the soil deeply dug??  I just thought of that.  
Are you sure there isn't a large rock or something that might be 
blocking the roots?  Eighteen inches ... na uh.  This has been 
going on since '96??  no.  Something is really wrong.  I got 
teeny-tiny Bluestone echinacea of several varieties 3 years ago. 
They became large clumps & bloomed the first year. I now have 3 
huge stands of the stuff and  I'm about to ask every 
nursery-owner I know how many hundred plants of which species 
they want. 

What else have you got growing with them?  How are they doing?  

Jaime


> Hi everyone,
> 
> In the spring of 1996, I planted two small echinacea starts.  They grew
> well that year, but didn't flower.  They died back completely and I
> marked the spots in the garden so I wouldn't accidentally disturb them.
> 
> Last spring, they were slow to come up-- in fact, I'd almost given up--
> but finally did.  This time they reached 18" in height, but still not
> blooms.  They died back as before.
> 
> This year, they came up quickly and are bigger and leafier than ever
> before.  And this year, for the first time, both plants have several
> blooms beginning.
> 
> So far, the booms have a sturdy seed head, ringed with delicate,
> feeble-looking pinkish purple petals.  Now, I know that echinacea petals
> droop toward the ground, but these aren't drooping-- they're hanging.
> And they are sparse, and thinner than what I've seen in pictures.
> 
> Is something wrong with these plants, or do the petals also go through a
> filling-out process after they first appear?
> 
> Is it typical to take two seasons before bloom is seen?
> 
> These plants are in well-amended, well-drained soil, full sun, and get a
> reasonable amount of water.
> 
> Thanks,
> Sue P.
> 
> SPesznec@lhs.org          Portland, Oregon
> (USDA zone 8, Sunset zone 6)
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> 
jknoble@warwick.net
Z6/5, NW NJ
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