Helenium Sahins Early Flowerer

Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer', awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society, surpasses others with its flamboyant and particularly long-lasting flowering. This perennial is equipped with flower heads whose colour evolves over time, creating a symphony of yellow, orange, red, and copper under the sun. Each flower is splashed with brushstrokes, creating a sumptuous harmony. This plant is very easy to grow in full sun and in moist soil. It enlivens flower beds, and is ideal for making bouquets.

Heleniums are perennials native to North America, and are generally found at the edge of swamps. The cultivar 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' has a solid growth rate. It has an upright habit with stems reaching 100cm (39in) in height. From July to November, it presents the horticultural equivalent of a fireworks display. Countless flower heads appear at the top of the stems, resembling 6cm (2in) in diameter daisies. Each flower is unique. The centre cone is coloured in orange-brown, gradually giving way to yellow stamens. The florets on the periphery are inclined downwards. They gradually colour successively in yellow, orange, red, and copper-brown splashed with yellow-orange as they mature. This harmony of colours is complemented by beautiful green foliage. The laminae are lanceolate, with smooth margins, and the leaves are arranged alternately along the stems. This flowering accompanies bees and butterflies until winter.

Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' is a robust plant and completely hardy. It is rarely diseased and appreciates ordinary soils. Easy to grow, it thrives in sunny exposures, planted in embankments, flower beds, or even containers. Despite all these qualities, heleniums remain rare in gardens. They are the perfect complement to asters and heucheras, and can also be planted with a deciduous euonymus with sublime autumn foliage. Also consider planting them with perennial chrysanthemums or rudbeckias. In a different setting, the velvety foliage of stachys or salvias greatly enhances the warm shades of this helenium.