We have echinacea in garder centres. You can buy seeds on www.ebay.com or try search on www.yahoo.com.

I didn't see any at Lowe's Tues. when I was there. I live on 67th and I-10, so I need to have a center close, or at least only 5 miles away.

You might try in the spring time, unfortunately, most gardening centers sell most of their plants in the spring.
Echinacea is hard to germinate, unless you have experience.
There are so many varieties available, that in the spring time, all your local nurseries should carry several varieties....or you can try www.richters.com
or any online nursery should have plenty of it.

Thanks. I might try that website. I didn't realize you couldn't plant it until spring. Mine have been in the ground for at least a week and are coming up. Got them on Ebay.

Or you could do a search of member pages on the GW exchange page for people who have this plant to trade.

Echinacea purpurea is the easiest to grow. I've had them come up robustly in a couple weeks. The other varieties--E. pallida, E. angustfolia, E. tennesseensis, etc.--are a little trickier but if you wintersow them (see FAQ link below) you should get good results, even in zone 8.

Good luck!
~bushpoet

Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersowing FAQ

You can PLANT echinacea anytime, it is just that nurseries do most of their business in the spring time, unfortunately for us warm winter people....if gardeners were smarter and shopped in the fall for perennials, like they should, we could get a decent selection, and maybe the nurseries would wise up....but they don't and probably won't....:o(

When we moved here five years ago, I didn't understand the nurserie's selling plants that you either couldn't grow here successfully, or not at all. Still don't understand. Maybe that's why so many people order seeds/plants online. I'm going to try and start my lavender in a pot indoors. Probably won't work, but I have them now, and don't want them to spoil by spring.

I have lots of seeds and plants. send me e-mail

Look around your area. If you find someone who grows echinacea, ask her to save some seed for you. Offer her some other seed in exchange. If no one in your area grows the plant, chances are that they are not hardy in your area. I have had no problem finding the seeds in all the stores selling seed packages, and they are not expensive.

Both E. angustifolia and E. purpurea wintersowed well for me..also have had good experience direct sowing both varieties in late fall...if you do w/s E. angustifolia be sure to get in ground before 2nd set of leaves or sow initially in deep plugs/containers to make transplanting the long taprooted seedling easier!
Seen E. purpurea plants as well as many other herbs in the outdoor garden center at Home Depot.

Jean Marie....This ain't the seed starting forum so I may get reprimanded!!!..I don't know what Lavender seed you have, but I started mine last December and grew on 13 plants until spring. To speed it up, I chilled the seed for 3 weeks and germinated the seed between moist coffee filter's (folded over once and then again...looks like a wedge) than into ziplock baggie. Within a week I had about 20 germinated (no seedleaves, just root...prick them out with toothpick and transplant to small pots/cups....don't drowned but keep moist...when they got to 2-3" into 8 oz paper cups...watered when needed. They stayed in those until April. If you don't have grow lights, and just a south window a little pinching of top set of leaves now and then over the winter will help promote bushyness and prevent leggyness. They are slow to grow. Adust to outdoors before planting out.

Good luck,

Vera