Helenium are a mainstay of the herbaceous border generally flowering from late summer into late autumn.
The colour range is warm and at times fiery with reds, browns, oranges, yellows and bi-colours. Very appropriate for the season and easy to grow from seed.

Common Names

• Commonly known as Helen’s flower as they are believed to have been watered by Helen of Troys tears.
• Some species are also known as Sneezeweed as the dried ground leaves were used in USA as a form of snuff.
• There are 39 accepted species with over 220 known names.

Specific Varieties and Cultivars

• Helenium Sahin’s Early Flowerer (agm) opens with rich golden ray-florets and a central brown disc-floret. It fades to burnt orange over time.
• Helenium Ruby Thuesday is a new compact introduction with rich red florets
• Helenium Wyndley grows to about 32″ with yellow florets overlayed with brown and orange.
• Helenium autumnale ‘Sunshine Hybrids’ is a mixture of seed offering a dazzling colour range of flowers Height: 2-4ft.

Growing from Seed

• Sow February to June or September to October.
• Germinate at 55-59F on the surface of a good free draining, damp seed compost.
• Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days.
• Do not exclude light at any stage, as this helps germination.
• Grow on in moist well drained soil.

Credits
HÉLÉNIUM by Mary.Do CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Impression, Helenium "Waltraut" by e³°°° CC BY-SA 2.0
Helenium autumnale, Sneezeweed by KingsbraeGarden CC BY-NC-SA 2.0