Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'

Description: A superb late summer flowering herbaceous perennial.  The mass of large daisy like flowers are produced in abundance and each head is full of richly coloured oranges and yellow giving an almost striped appearance, each with a central brown eye.  The plants produce tall strong upright growth and look very fresh in the border through the summer until the flowers appear. Many cultivars available in a wide range of orange yellow shades and can look stunning when several varieties are grown in the same area especially in a border of hot colours..

Uses: Looks brilliant planted in bold drifts where its bright flower heads can illuminate a border when the garden is needing colour. Works well in mixed borders or naturalised planting schemes and it associates very well with grasses. Good for wildlife as act as a magnet to bees and butterflies.

Climate/Position: Ideal in full sun

Height/Spread: 60cm x 45cm.- can be taller when established.

Soil Requirements: Fertile, moist but well-drained soil. More tolerant of dry soils than some varieties.

Pruning: Responds well to deadheading. After flowering the stems may be cut to ground level or left for winter interest and cut back in February.

Special Requirements: This is a tall variety so likely to benefit from a sheltered location or some support system in a windy site. Every two to three years divide the plants in spring then when replanting add well-rotted organic matter to the soil to feed and keep them moist.

Additional Interest: It is known as sneezeweed because the Cherokee Indians used to make the dried flowers into a herbal snuff as a cure for colds and catarrh.