Echinacea Purpurea - Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea. A native wildflower from eastern North America, used both as an ornamental and medicinal plant. Purple cone-shaped flowers with large orange/brown centers on 3' plants. Pollinated by both butterflies and bees, it is a good flower for attracting both. Prefers well-drained soils, can be drought-tolerant once established. Echinacea is well known as one of the top immune-boosting herbs in the US, with the roots usually harvested after 3 years of growth. Usually does not flower until the second year unless started very early.
Note: to improve germination, echinacea should be cold-stratified for 30 days (plant in moist potting soil and keep in a refrigerator). Although this year's seed tested at 75-89% with no cold stratification, generally, without cold-stratification you may only get about 30% germination rate. With cold-stratification you can get up to 100%. Grown organically but not certified.