Updated on 11/23/2024
Fall is that time of year when gardeners begin the process of cleaning up the garden but also is the time when we begin to think of next year and saving seeds. One of the my favorite plants is echinacea and I like to save the seed from it to grow and expand gardens. Saving seeds of perennials, like echinacea, allows us to continue to grow genetically diverse plants that have thrived in our garden during the previous season. Seedlings can range from being extremely close to the parent plant or can be quite different if they have been hybridized with another of the same species and different features. It can be very exciting for home gardeners to experiment and see what comes up the following year!
Saving seeds from echinacea is not difficult. To save coneflower seeds wait for the seed heads to form which resemble small cones. Then allow the seed heads to dry on the plant. Once dried you can collect the seeds and separate the actual seeds from the rest of the coneflower.
How to Separate and Save Seeds from Echinacea (Coneflower)
This week I’ve been collecting seeds from various plants that have matured in our garden including coneflowers – Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea tennesseansis (The Tennessee Coneflower which is of course native to Tennessee).
I’ve grown coneflowers for several years now and pretty much left them to their own designs but some of my plants have produced some very nice blooms. They have good coloring, nice sized blooms, or produce strong plants with a good form. When I find a plant that has some of these features I collect it to try and sustain the genes in my garden. I’ve done a few hybridization experiments on my coneflowers the results of which really won’t be known for a couple years but it requires that I save the seed from my coneflowers.
What do Echinacea Seeds Look Like?
The seeds of echinacea are brown and slightly conical in shape. In the picture below you can see the actual coneflower seeds. The rest of the material in the photo is called chaff. Separating the chaff, which is good if you are trading seeds or selling seeds, isn’t necessary if you are just saving seeds for yourself. The chaff is just inconsequential organic matter that you can toss out.
Video on Saving Coneflower/Echinacea Seeds (2024 Update)
You literally can collect thousands of seeds and make thousands of plants potentially when you save seeds. In the video you can see how many seeds I was able to get out of a group of 3 echinacea plants. I even left quite a few on the plants for the birds to enjoy.
If you’ve spent any time around coneflowers you’ll know that the seed heads produce very sharp pointed cones that make separating the seed very painful. Here is have a short video I put together on how I separate my coneflower seeds. It really isn’t that hard if you know the trick.
After I’ve separated the seeds I put them in small coin envelopes (Amazon Aff.), Be sure to label the envelope with the kind of seed you are saving with the botanical name, the date you collected it, and where your plant was located. That helps me to keep up with everything I need to know about the seeds.
Method 2 for Separating Seeds of Echinacea
Another method for saving seeds from Echinacea is to gather them up in a paper bag to fully dry then shake the bag. The seeds will then fall out and you can separate them. It really is that easy!!
How Echinacea is Propagated
Echinacea are normally propagated through seeds, division, and root cuttings. Seeds are by far the best way to make a lot of plants at one time. Division tends to be a much slower process but allows you to get an exact replica of the main plant which may be the desired result.
What seeds are you saving this fall?
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Good info, Dave. My echinacea were still blooming when we left for Paris. I'll have to collect seeds when we return.
Hmm, my method is to deadhead when the birds have had their fair share and scatter the dead blooms wherever I want more plants. I only toss the stalks in the compost.