Liven up your garden and make homemade echinacea tea for cold winter days by growing beautiful echinacea flowers. It is super easy, requires minimal fuss over the year, and produces gorgeous flowers which potentially have health benefits for the cold and flu season.
The echinacea flowers are super attractive to bees, butterflies, and bumblebees. You will surely notice them as they all compete vigorously for each flower. There is always a friendly buzz in the garden during early and mid-summer.
The flowers and honestly the whole plant is so beautiful, it is a wonderful addition to the garden.

Loose leaf homemade echinacea tea in a bowl

Benefits of the Echinacea Plant

There has always been a positive buzz about the echinacea plant when the flu season kicks in. It is believed that the pure echinacea tea can remedy some symptoms of the common cold in addition to flu-like symptoms. For further information please refer to some additional sources, especially on the topic of side effects. Before consuming please ensure to consult your doctor especially if you have a precondition of any kind.

Note that the whole plant is edible, flowers, petals and even the roots.

Homemade echinacea tea in a bowl - overhead view

How to Grow Echinacea Plant

It is super easy to grow the echinacea plant. I started mine from the seed in the raised garden. Ensure the soil is rich in nutrients, similar as you would for any other plant that does not require a particular soil. Just make sure the spot you picked for your future echinacea plant is in full sun. In partial shade the plant does not flower as much and the roots can rotten if there is too much water.

If you have the seeds, simply place them into the ground at about 5cm of depth. Bets time to do this is in spring. Spray the seeds with water and cover them with the remaining soil. Water regularly. You don’t want any parched soil as it might be too difficult for the seedlings to pop out of the soil. Also, overwatering can lead to rotting of the seeds. Later on, as the plant grows, it benefits from the soil that drains easily, as is the case in raised beds. Generally, I don’t fuss too much over it. Even in scorching summers, it tolerates dry soil quite well.

The plants will be small in the first several years, with only a handful of flowers. It is best not to pick any flowers until after the third year. You will notice a significant improvement in the strength of the plant over the years.

The plant dries out for winter, at which point you can cut it to the ground. If the winters are harsh where you live, best to do this in the spring. I usually cut the old plant in the spring when I see the new green sprouts emerging. You can compost the old dried plant.

Close up of the echinacea flower in the garden

How to Dry Echinacea Plant

Drying the echinacea plant could not be simpler. As I already mentioned, the whole plant is edible, including the roots. So far, I have only used the petals and the leaves, leaving the roots intact not to disturb the plant.

You will notice there is more than one flower on one stem, so when picking, cut the stem at the branching point. This way, you take only the largest flower and leave the others to grow, which you can harvest later. In addition, pick any healthy leaves along the stems but always leave some for further photosynthesis by the plant. Now that you have harvested the echinacea plant:

Tear the petals from the flower buds.
Gently wash the petals and the leaves separately.
Dry them with the salad spinner and place them on a clean kitchen towel.
Place the petals and the leaves on a drying rack or clean cheesecloth. Dry the plant when there is full sun out, so there is enough heat, but always dry in the shade to preserve the plant’s vibrant color.

You will notice how fast it dries. In the current furnace-like summers, this process is completed in one afternoon. However, the leaves dry slightly longer than the petals, which is why they should be dried separately.

Homemade echinacea tea on the table in a bowl

Storing the Homemade Echinacea Tea

Since the tea is made in the summer for winter, it does not need long-term storage. You can simply repeat the process of drying the plant every summer. This way, you will always have fresh echinacea tea for the coming winter.

To store the homemade echinacea tea for winter usage, I love to use 2.5L Tulip Weck jars. To properly clean them, I wash the jars and then dry them in the oven at 100ºC/212ºF to ensure they are sterilized. Once dry, turn the oven off and leave until the jars are at room temperature. Add the dry leaves and petals, close tightly with the lid, and store in a dry, dark cupboard.

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