You can dig up the whole plant, cut the root ball in half, add new soil to the hole and replant half and relocate the other. Leave enough time at the end of the season for the plant to reestablish itself before winter. To harvest echinacea roots, dig them up in fall after the plant has died back. Wash dirt off the roots, cut them into strips and dry them in a spot away from sunlight. A food dehydrator will work, too.
Roots are fully dry when they are brittle.
Chop them coarsely and store in an airtight glass container away from heat and light. Dena Nishek writes and gardens from her home in Boulder, Colorado, where she's turning sections of stubborn sod and heavy clay soil into beautiful and satisfying gardens. She's applied to the master gardener program to hone her gardening techniques and also, she hopes, to overcome some bug phobias. Living magazine, Zymurgy and Nutrition Science News magazine. References Byers D. Herbal Remedy Gardens.