Helenium autumnale Short and Sassy

Helenium 'Short and Sassy' is a new variety of autumn Helenium, much more compact and more vigorous than usual cultivars. Bushy and branched, it blooms from early July, and for several weeks, providing relentless tides of brightly coloured flowers in vivid orange and golden yellow with a brown centre, resembling flamboyant daisies. This Helenium is perfectly suited for pot cultivation and borders, and its flowers are beautiful in bouquets. Like all Heleniums, it is a fully hardy plant, easy to grow in the sun, in cool and well-drained soil. 

Heleniums are perennials of the Asteraceae family originating from North America, where they are generally found at the edge of marshes. The 'Short and Sassy' cultivar stands out with a stout habit and branched stems that do not exceed 45cm (18in) in height and spread. From July to September, in successive waves, a myriad of flowers appear at the top of the stems, visited by a procession of pollinating insects. The heads resemble daisies with a diameter of 4 to 5cm ; in the centre, the cone coloured in brown gradually gives way to yellow stamens that form a concentric circle. At the periphery, bright orange and yellow florets fade into a softer brick shade. The warm tones of this almost unreasonable flowering accompany the beginning of autumn flowers and foliage with fanfare.

The 'Short and Sassy' Helenium is a robust plant,  fully hardy and never sick. It appreciates ordinary soils that are rather moist and sunny exposures. Easy to grow, it blooms equally well on slopes, borders, and containers on the terrace. Despite all these qualities, Heleniums remain rare in gardens. Perhaps because their warm tones announce autumn a little too quickly, while the garden and the gardener are still trying to hold onto the last summer blooms; 'Short and Sassy' will be beautiful from July onwards, just like Penstemons, bellflowers, catmints, and daylilies. It pairs very well with the black foliage of Ophiopogon planiscapus and Cerastostigma plumbaginoides. In a different setting, the velvety foliage of Stachys or salvias greatly enhances the warm hue of this flowering.