Helichrysum bracteatum Moreska - Strawflower seeds

Helichrysum bracteatum Moreska create a mixture of bushy everlasting flowers with a rather compact habit, offering an abundance of very double flower heads in numerous bright or pastel shades, always very bright in summer and early autumn. Perfect for containers, rockeries, and anywhere with shallow soil, these small annual plants are undemanding, highly heat-resistant, and tolerate temporary droughts. They are ideal for filling small spaces. The flowers last a long time in dried bouquets.

Xerochrysum bracteatum is another name for this everlasting flower, an annual species native to Australia. This plant, from the Asteraceae family, has flowers arranged in flower heads, but they differ from daisies and centaureas in the absence of ray florets or petals, which are replaced by colourful and shiny bracts. This characteristic allows the inflorescences to last a long time once they are dry, as the bracts do not 'wither' like petals. The Moreska selection produces medium-sized plants, not exceeding 60 cm (24in) in height. They have an upright habit, with rough, sparsely branched stems, adorned with small deciduous simple leaves, lanceolate, medium green, villous, slightly bluish, measuring from 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) long. Flowering occurs from summer to early autumn, depending on the sowing date. It is nectar-rich and highly visited by butterflies. Depending on the plants, the flower heads, measuring 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2in) in diameter, come in various colours: white, bright yellow, salmon, light pink, bright pink, dark pink, red, or purple-red.

The Moreska everlasting flowers are suitable for cultivation in containers, rockeries, borders, or even in beds with perennials and low shrubs. To preserve the flowers for making dried bouquets, the flower heads should be picked before they fully open. The stems should be hung upside down in a well-ventilated, dark room. Once the stems are completely dry, the foliage will be removed.