h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Echinacea: a guide for those who want to grow it - A88008979
Author: pauh, check out the Guild of Librarians A1009135 - U176638

A88008979

I have been grown Coneflowers (a.k.a. Echinacea) for more than ten years, and have had good luck with them. I love their aroma, which reminds me of peaches. For four or five years, I regularly grew white Coneflowers from seed on my windowsill. I can assure the reader that my methods work.

There are some minor disadvantages, which I didn't want to complicate my entry with, namely that rabbits and woodchucks like to eat the leaves and sometimes the blossoms as well. If you don't have these animals in your area, you will likely not have to worry about this.

Although Echinacea originated in North America, cultivars are now grown in other parts of the world, notably Europe.

I've never heard of cone flowers, will have to see if I can get some seeds over here, they look lovely.

Thank you for your post.

"Most varieties are fully hardy in all parts of the UK down to -22°C / -11°F."

[from expert advice on growing coneflowers in the U.K.
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/plants/echinacea.php#:~:text=Smaller%20Echinacea%20will%20grow%20well,C%20%2F%20%2D11%C2%B0F.]

[One quibble about the link in the previous post: Central America is not where Coneflowers are native. That would be North America]

I've just tweaked the entry to reduce the size of the paragraphs. This may make it more user-friendly for the reader.

Another lovely Entry - thank you. I like Echinacea, as they are similar to Rudbeckia in shape but I prefer the purple-pink colour of the Echinacea petals The cone in the centre, which presumably gives it the nickname 'coneflower', is good for the bees

England has some fans of the plant.

Here's a link to a BBC gardener's guide to Echinacea:
http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/12-of-the-best-echinaceas-to-grow/

I've grown (or tried to grow) half a dozen of the types mentioned by the link. What always happens, though, is that the E. Purpura (Purpurea?) always germinates form seeds better than any of the others, and the fancy varieties tend not to be as hardy.

And, they self-seed like crazy if you don't dead-head them.

I don't want to diminish the chance of my entry being picked, but I will be realistic: I don't have any pictures of it to send in for the final entry. This is a type of plant that millions of people in dozens of countries love. If there are royalty-free images of it somewhere, so much the better.

Finally! I hunted and hunted. Here's a page with a photo. The photo was taken by the Fish and Wildlife Service, so it's fair game!

http://www.doi.gov/photos/tennessee-purple-coneflower

(You have to get one by a government employee. ) Save this link.

Thank you so much, Dmitri. I owe you!

I've just realized that the USDA has photos of many different plants.

Just be careful to read the photo credit info on each. Only ones taken by government employees as part of their work will qualify.

Hi,Dmitri

If I've read the Peer Review instructions properly, the decision is out of my hands. A scout decides that a would-be entry is worth picking, an then a sub-editor goes to work. I'm neither. I just wanted to be ready in case the sub-editor (assuming a scout has picked my entry) asked me if I had a photo to accompany the entry. Then I could present the link that you have so graciously found for me. I'm going to hazard a guess that all the photos in the USDA database of plants were taken by government employees, but I can't guarantee even that.

Failing that requirement, would a community artist be available to make an artistic representation?

I'm glad that you have been through this process, and can guide me.

Don't worry. The Artists will take care of the illustrations. And the Editors will do their due diligence on copyright issues. I just wanted to save you time.

Just concentrate on the text.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

I am deeply grateful to the scouts and the editors for this.

Congratulations!