Helenium El Dorado

Helenium 'El Dorado' is a variety of Helenium particularly interesting for its earliness and the duration of its flowering. From July to September, it offers an abundance of large daisy-like flowers in golden yellow with a brown centre, whose florets slightly variegate to orange at ripeness. Ideal for making bouquets. It is a medium-sized variety, hardy and easy to grow in the sun, in moist and well-drained soil. The florets are slightly trailing. Heleniums, in general, are ideal for making bouquets, they are hardy plants and easy to grow.

Heleniums are perennial plants native to North America, where they are usually found at the edge of swamps.

The 'El Dorado' cultivar has a very bright colour and vigorous growth. It has an upright habit with stems reaching a height of 1m (3ft), branched in the upper part. The leaves, coloured dark green, lanceolate in shape and with smooth margins, are arranged alternately at the base and along the stems. During the months from July to September, a myriad of flowers appear at the top of the stems. The heads resemble large daisies with a diameter of 6 to 8cm (2 to 3in). In the centre, the cone, coloured brown, gradually gives way to yellow stamens. At the periphery, brightly yellow coloured florets fade splashed with orange. The warm tones of this flowering announce the beginning of autumn flowers.

The 'El Dorado' Helenium is a robust and hardy plant that appreciates ordinary soils and sunny exposures. Easy to grow, it flowers equally well in slopes, flower beds or containers. Despite all these qualities, Heleniums remain rare in gardens. Perhaps because their warm tones announce autumn a little too quickly; yet they are the perfect complement to asters. 'El Dorado', in combination with Rudbeckias, pairs well with autumn plants such as asters or Heucheras, but it can also be associated with a deciduous Euonymus whose foliage ignites at the first cold. In a different setting, the fuzzy foliage of Stachys or salvias greatly enhances the warm hue of this flowering.