Should I dig up my Echinacea over winter?

Astro

I bought pink, mellow yellow and cheyenne spirit Echinacea this year and they did ok.

Reading round there is often the suggestion that they struggle through wetter winters ,especially if the soil isn't the most free draining. Owing that  my soil is a clay compost mix I wonder would it be safer to dig them up and put them into pots over winter in the greenhouse?

pansyface

I’d say yes, dig them up.

Nollie

Well Echinaceas are also one of the few perennials that are supposed to reslly resent any root disturbance... so it’s a bit of a toss-up as to whether digging them up will give them a better or worse chance of survival... but I did actually move three White Swans in the Spring and they settled into their new location fine and flowered well.

If you go for it and they survive, when you replant them out next Spring, dig in loads of grit to improve drainage. My soil is heavy clay on rock and we can get a torrential rain here too, but tonnes of grit dug into my beds seems to work.

Astro

Thanks. I'll likely dig them up after the first frost. I did add compost and some grit when planting back in spring but the soil has somewhat reverted back a bit I'd say. I'll add more next year and can hopefully leave them after that.

Stevedaylilly

I have Echinacea in my garden 
I leave them over winter due to the fact that they do not like disturbance. I lay a 2” mulch of back chip or garden compost over them to protect them over winter. They are planted in well drained soil so protecting them for winter by mulching has worked for me.
Unfortunately, they are not very long lived perennials  

raisingirl

White swan are the toughest ones - those have overwintered for me when it's been mild The other sorts don't get through the winter here. I think digging them up when they're dormant with as much soil as poss and into a big pot so they don't notice they're moving would be the best option