My Sunset Western Garden Book says they are propagated by seed, division or root cuttings, but if I were you, I would try a cutting and see what happens!

Thanks Susan. I just took the stem down and at the bottom were good feeder roots, so I planted it in a pot for the plant to settle in. I cut the stem in three and potted those. I'm trying those in regular potting soil, but the ones I get off the other stems I'm going to try a mix of /2 coarse sand and 1/2 potting soil. The potting soil by itself is really mucky so those might rot.

We'll see. Should be interesting and exciting if they do root. Perfect for the mostly orange purple butterfly garden!

Thanks Susan. I just took the stem down and at the bottom were good feeder roots, so I planted it in a pot for the plant to settle in. I cut the stem in three and potted those. I'm trying those in regular potting soil, but the ones I get off the other stems I'm going to try a mix of 1/2 coarse sand and 1/2 potting soil. The potting soil by itself is really mucky so those might rot.

We'll see. Should be interesting and exciting if they do root. Perfect for the mostly orange purple butterfly garden!

Please keep us informed...I also bought an orange echinacea (Sundown) and if cuttings will root I would love to do that.

Bonny

Will do Bonny!

I have rooted these plants, but the best way is to grab a stem on the side of the plant simply jerk it to the side. Almost every time there will be at least one root already there. I pot mine in potting soil and stick something in the pot to support the plant. I've never cut them back afterwards, however.

Checked yesterday and all the stems which were used are still green and the leaf which was left on each of them is still healthy. No roots yet though.

Ok, I'm going to be the first to rain on your parade. These are patented plants and it is illegal to propagate them vegetatively. This is for any purpose, even if it's just to make more for your own yard or share with a friend. The reasoning is that the developer should get a royalty for every plant sold. If you propagate it to make an extra plant, then you don't buy an extra plant, and the developer looses out.

It's your choice whether you want to abide by the law. No one is going to come after you. Propagating by seed is legal.

Oh my...

I'm just a simple gardener who is curious and enjoys gardening for it's therapeutic values. It gives me great pleasure to watch nature unfold. I imagine most folks on this forum feel the personal satisfaction I do every time they experience something new and magical in their gardens. It is a feeling that need not be shared with anyone else. It is our's.

My intention was not to sell the new plants. If this works, which it may not, my intention is to celebrate the fact that I can propagate Echinaceas through stem cuttings as much as I propagate Phlox Paniculata, Heliopsis, Hydrangeas, and others. And yes, I will plant them in the gardens should it succeed.

I also had/have no intention of buying another plant, so the folks who make $$ out of the registration of this plant never did or will lose out.

In essence, I just do this for fun and to appease my curiosity. I think I'll go out and relocate some seedlings of a brand new plant I bought this past year that Ma Nature happily planted in my gardens...

I'm with you on that Tiffy; Propagation is just plain darn fun, and the baby plant is often not the point. (Shhhh; Don't tell my mother.)

Tiff..I heard that adding a cutting of willow (pussy willow or weeping), will stimulate root formation on other cuttings in the medium. It leeches some heavy duty rooting hormones. I've successfully used willow cuttings (in water) with dogwood and forsythia. Just my two penneth.

I'll second the willow water. I've used is as a rooting horomone on all kinds of houseplants.

Wendy,

I've done that too - added some willow cuttings to other shrub barnches to makes them root. Yet these are in smaller pots and I'm afraid that the willow might root and overpower the other plant.

Jenfee,

Do you just take the willow juice and add it to the water which you supply to the cuttings? I did put some rooting hormone on there, but in the future might try the willow juice since I have some growing in the ditch and on the property and it's free!

My point exactly...no one's gonna give a hoot! I just gave some info on the issue because everyones talking about it.

If I were to do cuttings, I would root in straight perlite...less chance of rot to set in.

Vera

I've used the willow water both AS a rooting medium (for rooting in water) and as an additive to plants IN a rooting medium. I would usually take about a foot of branch, strip the leaves and cut it into pieces a couple of inches long. I let it sit for a day and then put spider plant babies, wandering jew, whatever.

I am not rooting in water anymore as I've seen lots of people recommend against it (You can look on the propogation forum for info about "water roots").

Anyway, I think the willow water does speed up the process a bit, whether you are rooting in water or a medium.

These days I don't have any willow trees around, so I'm back to Schultz's rooting horomone. I think they work abotu equally well.

I'm really interested to find out how the echinacea turns out, though.

I tried the willow water with these plants and they turned black! It didn't work for me, but maybe you'll have better luck. Try to take the stems from the bottom and get a root with them if possible. These are some very difficult plants to root.

tiffy: I promise not to call the plant police

Karen

With respect to the claim in this thread that these plants are patented and therefore can't be propagated, I don't think that is necessarily true. The patent office is understaffed and doesn't even try to properly examine patent applications. They just approve the patent and leave it to the courts to sort it out. There have been some court determinations that naturally occurring genes can't be patented. So this is an area of law that is still in flux. If you are not selling propagated plants, nobody really cares what you do. I certainly don't think you have any moral obligation to respect an untested patent.

info.on Echinacea cuttings,from mother plants,from stem cuttings,,,,thanks