Echinacea purpurea: Grow your own Immune enhancing herb!

What is echinacea purpurea used for?

Echinacea is big business and probably the herb which sold most in the recent years. No wonder: apart from
fighting the common cold, helping your immune system, combating inflammations including reumatoid arthritis, improving mental health, echinacea is one of the herbal remedies for ADHD, studies were undertaken about echincea as a remedy for brain cancer.

What growing conditions does echinacea purpurea like?

Why not grow you own herb cheaply rather than spending big bucks on remedies?

Overall, this herb is somewhat drought tolerant, likes well drained and neutral soil and prefers fertile loam.

Plant in full sun! Might self sow,(not a bad trait with this pretty flower!) but the babies might be hybrids if you have other echinaceas in
your garden.

Hardiness Zone: 3-9

Other common names:

Eastern purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower.