The first time I planted echinacea, I had yarrow growing all around it, hugging it close.
Echinacea, astragalus, elecampane ( Inula helenium), licorice ( Glycyrrhiza glabra), and ashwagandha ( Withania somnifera) are some popular herbs whose roots carry the most medicine rather than their above-ground parts. When planting them, make sure to give plenty of space to be able to dig those roots out in the future without disturbing other plants in the process. I learned this the hard way. The first time I planted echinacea, I had yarrow growing all around it, hugging it close. I couldn’t get to the roots of the echinacea without sacrificing some of my yarrow plants! In the end it turned out OK, as I just dug up the yarrow too and shared it with friends. Hindsight is 20/20 and so I’m sharing mine with you so (hopefully) you don’t have to make the same mistakes!