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Legend
- Start Indoors
- Transplant
- Start Outdoors
- Care
- Harvest
- Succession Plant
Echinacea : Toothache Plant - Baker Creek
Numbing plant - "Eyeball" flowers
(Spilanthes acmella) Pretty yellow and red cone-shaped flowers and leaves have properties similar to Echinacea; said to enhance the immune system, improve digestion and help nausea. The name toothache plant comes from the numbing properties it produces when the leaves and flowers are chewed, and it is used by many herbalists for this purpose. It is a tender perennial but can be grown as an annual in most areas.
Asteraceae Echinacea angustifolia
This is an example of the timeline you would see based on your growing conditions.
Echinacea: Echinacea
Toothache Plant - Baker Creek
Echinacea is a widespread and diverse genus of plants consisting of nine unique species indigenous to open glades, woodlands, riparian lowlands, prairies, and mountains in North America. The plants are herbaceous perennials, anchored in the soil by either a spreading, fibrous root or a taproot, depending on the species. The roots are tough and earthy-smelling, with crowns that grow woody with age, giving rise to full rosettes of leaves. The leaf shapes may be narrowly lance-shaped and entire or broadly lance-shaped and toothed. Mature plants produce several flowering stalks, sometimes branched, with leaves occurring sparsely up the stem. They are crowned by the magnificent purple flower. Most plants are medicinal and have been used throughout history for a wide variety of ailments.
Purple coneflower is the easiest type of Echinacea to grow, and the most commonly used species for medicinal purposes. Although all parts of the plant have some medicinal value, it is the fresh root that is most practical and effective for home medicine making.
Basics
- Ease of Growing
- Easy
- Grown as
- Perennial
- Growing Habit
- -
- Hardiness
- Hardy
Echinacea paradoxa is hardy to most temperate zones.
- Crops
- Spring Transplant, Spring
- Growing Season
- Short, Long
- Cultivar Type
- -
- Growing Conditions
- Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot
Echinacea will be most productive in a warm sunny spot, but will tolerate light shade as well as a wide range of weather conditions once it is established.
- Outdoor Growing Temp
- 50°F - 95°F
- Min Outdoor Soil Temp
- 50°F
There is really no advantage to planting Echinacea in colder soil, so wait until the soil reaches at least 50 ˚F.
- Start Indoors
- Yes
- Start Outdoors
- Yes
- Light
- Water
- Low
Once established, Echinacea only needs to be watered during drought or high heat periods. However, it doesn't hurt to give the plants some water every couple weeks, especially if the soil is dry.
- Feeder
- Moderate
- Suitability
- Drought tolerant, Tolerates light frost, Tolerates hard frost, High heat
- Small Gardens?
- Yes
- Containers?
- Yes
Plant individual plants in 2 to 3 gallon pots, or multiple plants in a narrow planter that is at least 1 1/2' wide. Add gravel to the bottom of the container to encourage draining. Place pots in full sun. Every spring, fertilize your plants and prune back dead flowers and leaves.
- Attracts beneficial insects?
- Yes
- Color
- -
- Fruit Size
- - "
- Plant Height
- 24.0 - 48.0"
- Plant Diameter
- 18.0 - 24.0"
- Hardiness Zone
- -
- Disease Resistance
- -
- Taste Profile
- -
- Rotation Group
- Perennial
Last Frost Date (LFD) refers to the approximate date of the last killing frost of spring.
Example first frost date on April 08.
First Frost Date (FFD) refers to the approximate date of the first killing frost of winter.
Example first frost date on November 01.
