Ok - we're talking about two different things. The term 'pruning' is usually reserved for woody plants - trees and shrubs - and involves the removal of superflous or damaged growth or enhancing existing growth and to encourage fruiting or flowering.

Echinaceas and other herbaceous (die to the ground in winter) perennials are not really "pruned". They are sometimes cut or pinched back during the growing season to encourage bushiness or reflowering and often "deadheaded" to groom or remove spent flowers but what you are referring to is generally considered to be plain old clean up :-) And it can be done in late fall, mid winter or early spring, depending on your climate, your inclination and the specific plant. Many gardeners wait until after a couple of frosts then clean up their perennial beds by removing all cold damaged foliage (some perennials hold their foliage well over winter). Many others leave the old foliage and dried flower/seedheads in place for winter interest or to provide fodder for wildlife, like birds. It's your choice. And lots of times, professional landscape maintenance companies don't even wait for a few frosts before they clean up commerical installations - they do it when it fits their schedules.

If you know what plants you have in your garden, Googling them should provide specific information on how to care for them for winter. Most perennials can be cut to the ground or close to it, removing all foliage and old flower stalks. The butterfly bush is in a unique category in that it is considered a subshrub - not exactly a true woody shrub (like a rhododendron, for example) but not exactly a dieback perennial either. Cutting back now can expose semi-woody tissue to winter cold and result in excessive winter dieback. These, and other similar plants like lavender, Russian sage, tree mallows and caryopteris, are generally not cut back until spring as new growth emerges.

There's lots of resources out there on pruning and winter care. Check your library for The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by Traci diSabto-Aust for one of the better presentations on year round perennial care and The AHS Guide to Pruning and Training edited by Christopher Brickell for the best guide to pruning trees and shrubs (and subshrubs).

The classic on pruning is Brown, THE PRUNING OF TREES SHRUBS AND CONIFERS (Timber Press). That and the above title are the two I look at most often (I have many other pruning books).

No, Brian, you didn't ruin the echinacea. They grow back from the ground up. You should soon seen foliage emerging at the base of the plant. It will soon grow tall and bloom at it's normal time for your location. Mine all started to emerge a few weeks ago.

Echinaceas are very tough plants. It's hard to hurt them. If you're a beginner gardener, echinacea is a great plant.

Karen