Helenium Waltraut

Helenium 'Waldtraut' is a variety of colourful Helenium with bright orange that fades to yellow-orange towards the edges of the peripheral florets. It is a late summer perennial that brightens up the end of the sunny days and accompanies the first autumn colours in the garden. The large daisy-like heads are perfect for bouquets. In borders, Heleniums accompany asters with flair and are very easy to grow.

Native varieties of Heleniums originate from North America and are typically found at the edge of marshes. The 'Waldtraut' cultivar has an upright habit with stems reaching 90cm (35in) in height. The brightly coloured lanceolate leaves with smooth margins are arranged alternately along the stems. During the months from July to September, a multitude of flowers invades the top of the stems. The heads resemble large daisies, with a cone in shades of red-brown at the centre gradually giving way to yellow stamens. At the periphery, brightly coloured florets in orange that fade to yellow-orange at the petal edges complete this range of warm tones.

Helenium 'Waldtraut' is a robust, hardy and disease-free plant. It thrives in ordinary soils and sunny exposures. Easy to grow, it blooms equally well in slopes, borders, or containers. Despite all these qualities, Heleniums remain rare in gardens. Perhaps because their colours announce autumn a little too soon. 'Waldtraut' pairs very well with autumnal plants such as Rudbeckias or poppies, but it can also be associated with a deciduous Euonymus whose foliage ignites at the first cold weather.