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Helenium
Helensflower
Legend has it that Helenium first grew on ground watered with the tears of Helen of Troy. The backbone of the late season garden, they send out branching stems covered with red, yellow, orange and bronze daisy-like flowers that have sculpted conical centers and fringed satiny petals. In areas of high wind or heavy rain, the stout stalks may need support.
A flower arranger’s darling and a welcome sight in a summer border, ‘Helena Gold’ earned glowing kudos at North Carolina State University’s recent Speciality Cut Trails. Tall well-branched thick stems and verdant greenery shoulder a splendid sunburst of plentiful dark yellow daisies that lasts for several months and occurs in the first year. Easily grown and never water thirsty, this robust perennial exhibits a long vase life and can be coupled with Echinops ‘Blue Glow’ and Salvia ‘Nekan’ for charming French country colors in your garden.
Blooms July–September.
Size: 3-1/2' – 4' 0" high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Short petals in sunny deep yellow encompass the blackish brown discs of this western species. Compact and earlier to flower than other Helenium cultivars, ‘The Bishop’ pledges a bright profile when planted with Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’ and Salvia ‘Caradonna’.
Blooms July–August.
Size: 2-1/4' high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 6.
Renown for its rich, buttery yellow blooms, ‘Butter-pat’s fulgent, late season parade is a welcome event in our garden. The sunny petals are gathered by green-tinged golden cones, while tall, stiff stems clothed in lance-shaped leaves stand sentinel below. Try planting this robust cultivar with Salvia ‘Nekan’, Sedum ‘Neon’ and Calamagrostis brachytricha for a lively gathering.
Blooms July–August.
Size: 4' 0" high x 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Hats off to Dutch plantsman Nic Geerling for selecting this compact sturdy cultivar from a group of seedlings and later releasing it in 2005. Ogled by pollinators, plants people and floral designers, the full lavishly-hued blooms debut conical brownish maroon centers amid horizontally held crimson petals with yellow flecks towards the edges plus tangerine shades, that age to mahogany. A winsome mildew-resistant perennial, ‘Chelsey’s lance-like bright green leaves and thick upright stems can mosey alongside Aster ‘Nachtauge’ and Perovskia ‘Little Spire’.
Blooms July–September
Size: 2-1/2' high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
From the same group of seedlings that produced ‘Bruno’ comes ‘Coppelia’, the selection that holds first place in Alan Bloom’s heart for its earlier bloom and shorter stature. Large coppery red blooms supported by sturdy stems offer sumptuous colors for the late season border.
Blooms August–September.
Size: 3' 0" high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Long after other flowers have had their say, this tall, back-of-the-border Helenium delivers a bonfire of color. Henna-red and burnt orange petals, streaked with gilt hues, surround velvety brown centers, looking like the twirling skirts of flamenco dancers.
Blooms late August–mid-October.
Size: 5' 0" high x 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
First discovered in the late 1800s, this robust and stalwart denizen of the American West volunteers a perky floral display above broad, up to a foot long, strapping foliage that creates a handsome gray-green rosette with a subtle sheen. Sturdy leafy stems yield vibrant clusters of 3 in. wide golden flowers defined by narrow, slightly reflexed rays circling a darker central disk.
Blooms July–August.
Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 3.
A top-performer at Mt. Cuba’s plant trials, this pollinator-friendly Karl Foerster prodigy touts merit aplenty and sunny good cheer. Copious bright canary-yellow flowers, among the best for cut creations, furnish frilly-edged horizontal petals plus deep yellow central cones that turn rusty orange in autumn and nourish the birds. Renowned for floral profusion, upright, thick-branched stalks and superior disease resistance, ′Kanaria′s clumping stand of lance-shaped greenery shuns deer, seldom needs staking and craves sunny adequately-moist abodes.
Blooms August–mid-October
Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Enhancing gardens since 1930, this well-loved award-winning Helenium serves up a floriferous dose of long blooming, uniquely colored flowers. Daisy-like blossoms grab your attention as wedge-shaped dark copper red petals encompass mocha-hued central domes with gold rims. Shouldered by staunch upright stems and toothed slender green leaves, the pollinator-friendly blooms make quite a splash amid companions such as Heliopsis ‘GoldgrÜnherz’, Phlox ‘David’, Sanguisorba ‘Chocolate Tip’ and Molinia ‘Bergfreund’.
Blooms late August–mid October
Size: 2' 0" – 3-1/2' high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Selected by Dutchwoman, Inez Arnold, this hearty full-toned Helenium struts straight stems and attractive lanceolate green leaves that bolster a bevy of 2 in. wide, richly-hued blossoms. The large, open-faced deep red flowers are emboldened with dark chocolate-colored cones and a slender, radiant golden edge. Beloved by pollinators as well as floral arrangers, ‘Potter’s Wheel’ injects welcome late summer pizazz to mixed borders, cottage gardens and prairie-style plantings.
Blooms July–September
Size: 2-1/2' – 3-1/2' high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Saturated with dusky red hues, uniquely shaded petals perform a lavish dance around prominent maroon and saffron hubs. Droves of closely set flowers, some marked by yellow tips, are esteemed for their long blooming period and the consistent color they maintain throughout the season, unlike many other Heleniums.
Destined to be a vivacious garden mainstay, this Bob Brown introduction grows as a bushy verdant clump, looks spectacular en masse and can escort perennials like Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’ and Salvia confertiflora for a galvanizing floral affair.
Size: 2-1/2' – 3' 0" high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
A dashing straight-backed German introduction, ‘Rotgold’s bicolored flowers flash deep red petals with bright sunny yellow margins plus prominent dome-like flaxen, maroon and chocolate-colored centers. Obovate 4 in. long medium green leaves anchor the sumptuous long blooming floral extravaganza that can cozy up to Veronicastrum ‘Red Arrow’, Phlox ‘Blue Paradise’ and Schizachyrium ‘Jazz’ in a meadow-inspired venue, prairie-style planting or perennial border.
Blooms July–September
Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Plushly colored in chocolate brown and gold, each round hub centers a carousel of dark brick red petals, exhibiting orange-yellow striations as they age, while smooth-edged lanceolate leaves cloak the sturdy upstanding stems below. Wildly popular in Europe, this compact shorter statured Helenium makes a welcome addition to any garden, especially when showcased with Monardas and Panicums.
Blooms August–September
Size: 2' 0" – 2-1/2' high x 15" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
If razzle-dazzle is what you are looking for consider trying this festive AGM winner. Tidy, tapered green leaves and tall brawny stems hoist a bright celebration of multihued deep red flowers with gold and coffee-colored central knobs. Shortly after unfurling, the-perfect-for-cutting blooms manifest sparkling orange and sunny yellow streaks, each blossom unique in its pattern and combination of shades. Crocosmia "Lucifer" and Aconitum "Arendesii" make equally vibrant companions.
Blooms July–September
Size: 2-1/2' – 3' 0" high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Revered by both pollinators and plant aficionados, this lusty large-flowering 1947 German introduction equally impressed the RHS back in 2001 when they unanimously granted it an AGM. Attractive, long, alternate green leaves plus straight strong stems carry a unique velvet textured flourish of 3 in. wide brown-centered flowers featuring artfully painted gold-hued petals dusted with copper and tangerine shades on top, and burnt orange on the flip sides. Ideal for mixed borders, cottage gardens and meadow settings, ‘Waltraut’ lends cozy late season colors alongside other easy-care plants such as Echinacea paradoxa, Veronicastrum ‘Adoration’ and Molinia ‘Moorflamme’.
Blooms July–September
Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 12" – 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
One of the largest flowered Heleniums, ‘Zimbelstern’s undulating, brilliantly golden, mahogany-splashed petals converge at a russet eye. Before its enthusiastic bloom, strong stems sport unusual chartreuse buds that have a joy all their own.
Blooms late August–mid-October.
Size: 4' 0" – 4-1/2' high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
