Helenium autumnale Red & Gold Hybrids seeds - Common sneezeweed

Helenium autumnale 'red and gold hybrids' is a variety in a mix of very attractive autumnal shades: from yellow to orange and red to bronze. This generous, robust plant blooms from summer to autumn, in the sun, in any good garden soil. It brightens up flower beds and borders with its vibrant colours and is also a sensational cut flower. Sowing is easy and generally successful.

Native to North America where it grows on the forest edge in damp to moist areas, Helenium autumnale is a short-lived perennial (or sometimes an annual). It belongs to the large Asteraceae family, with inflorescences organised in flower heads.

'Red and Gold Hybrids' is a cultivar with a mix of colourful inflorescences. The plant forms a beautiful clump of branching stems reaching up to 1.20 m in height when in flower. Despite its size, this sneezeweed does not collapse under the weight of the flowers. The colourful, bright green, lanceolate leaves with smooth margins, are arranged alternately along the stems. Between July and October, a large number of flowers continuously bloom at the top of the stems in heads resembling large daisies of 7-8 cm in diameter. In the centre, the shiny, orange-brown cone gradually gives way to yellow stamens. At the periphery, the florets are red or reddish-brown, yellow to golden yellow, or orange, depending on the flower. This flowering, attracting numerous pollinating insects, heralds the beginning of autumn flowers and foliage.

Helenium 'red and gold hybrids' is a very hardy and disease-resistant selection. It appreciates moist to wet soils and sunny exposures. A low-maintenance plant, it may still need staking. Plants may also be pinched in June to reduce height. Easy to grow, it fits well in a cottage, country-style, or English garden. Despite all these qualities, sneezeweeds remain rare in gardens. Perhaps because their warm tones herald autumn a bit too soon, while the garden and gardener are still trying to hold onto the last summer blooms; yet they are the perfect complement to asters. 'Red and Gold Hybrids', combined with coneflowers, pairs very well with autumn plants like coral bells and sunflowers, but can also be combined with a dwarf winged spindle tree, whose foliage ignites at the first cold spells, or with the sumptuous dyer's madder. Consider cosmos, poppies, coneflowers and evening primroses as well. The grey foliage of Stachys or shrubby wormwoods can greatly enhance the warm tones of its flowering. The sneezeweed flower is also very beautiful in fresh or dried flower bouquets.