ECHINACEA ARTISAN SOFT ORANGE F1

Like its sister, Artisan Soft Orange has all the qualities and vigour of an F1 Hybrid with uniform well branched plants and lovely deep orange flowers which soften as they mature. Ideal for containers and a striking border plant too.

This really is the next big step forward for Echinacea and although they may seem wickedly expensive, in actual fact, they are quite the opposite, if you consider the cost of a plant. Added to that, the seeds have been treated for faster germination too. 16-28”. HP.

With handsome, long-lasting flowers, Echinacea is hardy, easy to grow, and suitable both for the formal border and a more informal meadow style.

Echinacea flowers have a distinctive, sweet, fragrance attracting bees and butterflies to their long lasting daisy-like blooms throughout summer. Cone Flower is a stylish cut flower, with robust but elegant stems that provide good wind and weather resistance.

Sow Echinacea seeds in late winter and early spring or in late summer and early autumn for over-wintering. From an early sowing it is possible to get flowers in the first season.

Surface sow the seed in pots or trays and press lightly into moist compost. Echinacea seeds need light to germinate, so do not cover. Germination may begin within 5 days but can take up to three weeks at 68 – 75F

In their natural environment, the seeds would germinate after a period of cold, so if there is little or no germination move the tray to a cold area: a fridge at around 4°C (39°F) is ideal, for 2 to 4 weeks.

Prick out each seedling as it becomes large enough to handle and transplant into individual 3 inch pots to grow on. Once you have picked out all of the germinated seedlings place the tray outdoors in a sheltered area over winter and check it again in the Spring, when you may find the more stubborn seeds have now germinated.

Plant out in spring into well-drained soil after gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for a couple of weeks.