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Re: echinacea help

> Does anyone know if Echinacea spp are totally insect pollinated? 

Echinacea spp. are indeed insect pollinated and many of them with 
similar chromosome numbers can and do hybridize as a result of the 
indiscriminate attentions of the butterflies and bees that visit 
them. It is my understanding that E. pallida is tetraploid , while E. 
angustifolia is is diploid, so the only hybrids they would be likely 
to make are sterile triploids. In plants however, such genetic 
entities are occasionally viable, so your best bet for genetic purity 
is to have your two species planted 100 or more meters apart.
 
Alternatively, you could use netting to give pollinators access to 
only one of the species each year, and allow the other to self, also 
ensuring its purity, if indeed Echinacea can self, for which I don't 
know of any documentation. Let us know what you find out.


James C. Trager
Shaw Arboretum
P.O. Box 38
Gray Summit MO 63039
PH# 314-451-3512
FAX 314-451-5583
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