OK--this is my first yr to have the purple coneflowers... When the flower finishes blooming and the cone is completely black.. Are these the seeds that I need to collect ? I have no idea//// Please help
coneflower
I've never harvested echinacea seeds, but I'd cut the flower and hang it upside down and let the seeds fall out. You might post on the "garden talk" forum.
If your coneflower is completely black already, I'd definitely cut it/pick it off and lay it aside for a couple of days, just to be sure it's completely dry. Then what I do is sort through the cone part to find what I think are seeds, usually just by ruling out what are most likely not seeds :) Sometimes that's difficult though, which is why checking is always helpful!
Pics of echinacea seeds are on the front page of the Plant Files listing for echinacea here: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/26/index.html
I have some blooming right now, so I'm going to be needing this info soon, too.
I've been collecting seeds from my varieties of echinacea. Be careful, the conehead packs a sharp point! The seeds are blonde.
The seeds are next to the center of the cone and are light tan and v shaped with a black tail. the black tail comes off. If you stroke the cone from the bottom up the tails fall off and you can see the tan ends of the seeds. When good and dry they fall out easily. I use sharp pointed tweezers to pull out the sharp pointed black parts and get to the seeds.