How to Grow Coneflowers From Cuttings

Collect roots for cutting during coneflower's dormant season, late fall through winter. Avoid disturbing in-ground coneflowers as much as possible while you dig around the perimeter seeking "rootable roots." Look for roots about as big around as a pencil and with at least four buds or small bumps.

Place roots in moist sand and keep them in the basement, garage or other cool place at 40 degrees Fahrenheit until spring, when it will be warm enough to root them naturally. You can also use a bottom heat pad to root new plants in winter.

Make a loose, warm mixture by volume of 60 percent sand and 40 percent peat as a rooting soil. Moisten it thoroughly but allow it to drain thoroughly too; wet rooting mix promotes disease. Fill rooting pots or flats with the mix.

Stick cuttings vertically in deeper pots, covering the root section entirely. When covered roots should be about 1 inch below the surface. Rooting will occur and new top shoots will appear in two to three weeks.

Lay the root cuttings flat on the surface of the rooting mix, alternatively, for shallow rooting containers or trays. Keep the medium warm and moist, but not wet, until roots and then new shoots appear.

Pot up new plants individually once they are rooted. New coneflowers can be planted out after they develop leaves and roots are well developed, filling the pot.