How to sow your free echinacea seeds - Six Months of Seeds
Find out how to grow gorgeous coneflowers from the seeds provided with your February 2021 edition of BBC Gardeners' World Magazine.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow | yes | yes | yes | |||||||||
| Plant | yes | yes | yes | |||||||||
| Flowers | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Echinaceas are easy-to-grow perennials that bear bright daisy blooms with striking, conical centres. They work particularly well in prairie-style planting schemes among billowing ornamental grasses.
Your February 2021 subscriber edition of BBC Gardeners' World Magazine comes with a free pack of Echinacea 'Large Flowered', a pink variety that produces gorgeous flowers from early summer right through to autumn. Sow your seeds from February onwards and in summer your garden will be a magnet for pollinating bees, butterflies and moths. Then, later in the season, birds will feast on the abundant supply of seeds.
Your February issue also comes with free dahlia seeds - find out how to sow them in our video guide.
More advice on growing echinaceas
You'll find out more about growing echinaceas and other members of the daisy family in our subscriber-only collection of February extras.
Sow your echinacea seeds by following our practical guide, below.
You Will Need
- Echinacea seeds
- Pots
- Multi-purpose compost
- Sieve
- Dibber
- Pencil
- Plant label
- Watering can with rose attachment
Step 1
Pour multi-purpose compost into a small pot. Gently tamp it level to about 1cm below the rim, to leave room for watering.
Step 2
Place the seeds about 1cm apart on the surface. Cover lightly with more compost, ideally using a sieve to remove any lumps. Label your pot.
Step 3
Water using a small watering can with a rose, so the seeds are not dislodged. Place in a warm spot and keep the compost moist.
Step 4 - Pricking out
When your seedlings have germinated, take a slightly larger pot, fresh multi-purpose compost and a dibber. Fill the pot with compost.
Step 5
Holding a seedling by a leaf, use the dibber to lever it out of the compost, taking care to bring all of the roots with it.
Step 6
Make a hole for each seedling, several centimetres apart, then lower in the seedlings.
Step 7
Firm in gently and water using a watering can with a rose attachment. Remember to label your pot.
Coming up - more free seeds
March: Pollinator mix and sunflower
Perfect for pollinators, our March packs are worth £5.50
- Pollinator Mix - a wildlife-friendly mix of beautiful flowers, rich in nectar and pollen
- Sunflower Sunburst Mix - super-easy to grow, the cheery large flowerheads are a magnet for pollinators and the seeds are a great source of food for birds later in the year
April: Tomato and basil
The taste of summer. Packs worth £4.80
- Tomato 'Red Cherry' - heavy crops of small fruits with delicious, sweet fruits flavour. Can be grown outside or in an unheated greenhouse
- Basil 'Lettuce Leaf' - this unusual basil bears enormous, frilly-edged leaves, which have a sweet aromatic flavour you can enjoy all summer long
May: Cosmos and carrot
A couple of classics in this double pack worth £5
- Cosmos 'Purity' - this much-loved favourite will give you a dazzling display of large white flowers right through summer. Also great for cut flowers
- Carrot 'Royal Chantenay 3' - sow direct in the ground, or in containers. Kids will love growing and eating this fast-growing variety and the small, sweet roots are delicious cooked whole
June: Zinnia and cornflower
Get speedy results with this colourful couple, worth £4.80
- Zinnia 'Early Wonder' – large dahlia-like blooms in a mix of showy, vibrant colours
- Cornflower 'Blue Ball' - easy to grow, with masses of bee-friendly blooms, cornflowers are the perfect cottage garden flower
