Helenium Marion Nickig

Helenium 'Marion Nickig' is a variety of Helenium that reaches a height of 1m (3ft). This sturdy perennial produces colorful daisy-like flowers from summer to autumn. They are a rich and bright orange-red, finely edged with yellow, surrounding a brown cone. They fade to golden and softened brick tones, transforming the plant into a splendid multicoloured bouquet. Unlike many other varieties, it has a relatively slow growth. But like all Heleniums, it is ideal for flower arrangements, and it is a fully hardy plant, easy to grow in sunny, moist, and well-drained soil.

Heleniums are perennials native to North America, where they are typically found on the edges of swamps. The 'Marion Nickig' cultivar has a very rich colour and moderate, rather slow growth. It has an upright habit with stems reaching a height of 1m (3ft). The leaves are brightly coloured, lanceolate in shape, with smooth margins, and arranged alternately along the stems. From July to September, a myriad of flowers appear at the top of the stems. The flower heads resemble daisies, measuring 4 to 5cm (2in) in diameter, with a centre cone in orange-brown that gradually gives way to yellow stamens forming a concentric circle. At the periphery, intensely orange-red florets fade to a softer brick hue, mixed with golden variegations. The warm tones of this almost extravagant flowering announce the beginning of autumn flowers and foliage.

Helenium 'Marion Nickig' is a robust and hardy plant that is never affected by diseases. It thrives in ordinary, rather moist soil and sunny exposures. Easy to grow, it blooms beautifully in slopes, flower beds, and containers on the terrace. Despite all these qualities, Heleniums remain rare in gardens. Perhaps because their warm tones announce autumn a little too soon, while the garden and the gardener are still trying to hold onto the last summer blooms; nevertheless, they are the perfect complement to asters. 'Marion Nickig', when combined with Rudbeckias, pairs well with autumn plants such as Heucheras and Helianthus, but it can also be associated with a deciduous Euonymus, whose foliage ignites at the first cold, or with the sumptuous dyer's vine. In a different setting, the velvety foliage of Stachys or salvias greatly enhances the warm hue of this flowering.