Blooming in late summer and carrying bright colors throughout the autumn until severe frosts, helenium received its name in honor of Helen the Beautiful, the wife of the legendary Cretan king Menelaus. As the legends say and Homer describes in the Iliad, after her abduction by Paris, the Trojan War broke out.
This is how Elena the Beautiful was embodied in flowers
In the photo you can see a combination of two varieties of helenium: red and yellow.
Biological characteristics
Heleniums - annual or perennial flower plants family Asteraceae. They come originally from North America, where there are 32 species.
Some of these species are decorative, for example, autumn, whose garden varieties and species forms are called hybrid helinium. It is these plants that bloom in late summer and autumn that we will talk about today.
Range of shades garden flower helenium is striking in its breadth: ranging from light yellow to dark burgundy. The height of these flowers usually varies from 30 centimeters to one meter sixty, although ten-centimeter dwarfs are also found in the wild.
The helenium flower has a large convex center, framed by chamomile-type petals. The leaves of the plant are oblong and sedge-shaped.
It is worth noting that, depending on the type, heleniums can be annual or perennial.
If you look at a helenium bush in a flowerbed, you will notice that it is not one plant with many branches, but a whole bunch of separate stems. Supporting each other, they create blooming splendor.
Ripening helenium seeds fall off, germinating the next year and increasing the size of the bush. Also, reproduction occurs by shoots budding from the stems, leaving in the winter.
Varieties and types
There are a great many varieties of helenium, we will try to describe the most popular of them.
Helenium Rubincverg, as the name implies, has a dark red or ruby color of its buds with a diameter of three to five centimeters, the central part of the flower is darker with a yellow border. The height of the plant is about sixty centimeters and belongs to autumn view. This popular variety blooms from late July to October.
Helenium variety Rubintsverg
Ruby Tuesday
Burgundy color is also characteristic of the Ruby Tuesday variety. This variety is one of the shortest, its height rarely reaches half a meter. The flowers are also smaller than those of Rubincverg, only up to three centimeters in diameter. It blooms for two months: from early August to early October.
Ruby Tuesday
Canaria
Helenium Canaria - a typical representative hybrid species this plant. Its straight and strong woody stems rise 110-120 centimeters above the soil. The tops of the stems branch, forming inflorescences with a diameter of forty to fifty centimeters with soft yellow petals around an orange core. The aroma of these flowers attracts many insects, especially honey bees. The duration of flowering is short, only about forty days: from early August to mid-September.
Helenium Canaria - miniature sunflower
Autumn Jazz
Helenium Autumn Jazz is similar in plant and flower shape to Canaria, but differs in brighter colors of both the core and petals.
Autumn Jazz
Sunrise
Helenium Sunrise is distinguished by increased growth of its stems up to 130 centimeters and a red-brown tint of the central part of the flower with lemon-yellow petals. But sellers often call this a mixture of several varieties of this flower plant.
Helenium Sunrise
Helena gold
The petals and middle of Helena Gold are yellow in color with a flowering period of up to two months.
Elena golden
Chuppah
Helenium Hupa, or Gupesa, - separate species of this kind. Unlike the others we have considered, this is a rhizomatous plant up to 90 centimeters tall with early flowering. The species blooms in June and blooms for a month and a half. As you can see in the photo, the structure of the flower differs from the autumn hybrid helenium.
Helenium Hupa
Agricultural technology
Growing helenium consists of planting and caring for it in open ground. The agricultural technology of this plant includes the following stages: reproduction; landing; care Each of them is important for the plant and requires some knowledge.
Reproduction
Helenium is propagated in two ways:
- seed;
- vegetative.
Seed propagation is carried out in two ways. In the first case, the seeds are sown before winter on a prepared bed in September before the onset of stable frosts. Placed in the ground, they overwinter well.
The second method is seedlings. Seeds are sown in February superficially in the snow, and stratification is carried out: they are placed in the refrigerator for a month and a half. After this, the container is transferred to light for germination at a temperature of 18-20 degrees. In the future, they are grown like seedlings of other plants. For example, after the third true leaf appears, the seedlings are planted in separate pots. Planted in open ground after the threat of return frosts has passed.
Attention! Helenium seeds have low germination rate, in the first season only 60-70 percent, over time it drops even lower!
Vegetative propagation is also carried out in two ways: by dividing the bush and by root rosettes. Dividing the bush and replanting the parts is done in one day. Transplantation of helenium can be carried out both in the fall after flowering and in the spring after germination.
Advice! After four years, transplanting the bush to another place is required. Otherwise, the plant thickens too much and loses its qualities, in particular frost resistance. In addition, keeping a plant in one place for a long time depletes the soil.
Second way vegetative propagation is the transplantation of root rosettes. The fact is that, as was mentioned briefly above in the text, the helenium bush is a set of individual shoots with their own roots. So, in the root zone on the stem, some buds give birth to new plants; they look like small rosettes. During the winter, the stem and root die off, and the tiny replacement shoots overwinter well under the snow. Separating them from the shoots, a new bush is planted.
Landing
Further cultivation of helenium occurs in open ground in a flower bed or as a tapeworm in the middle of the lawn. If you plant them in compositions with other flowers, then it is best to place these flowers in the background due to their elevation above their neighbors. When choosing a single location, be prepared for frequent watering bush, since such a location is more illuminated and dried by the sun.
Advice! It is not for nothing that Helenium has the same root as Helios, the sun god. It should be placed exclusively in a place that is lit all day long! In some shade, heleniums grow longer to the detriment of the larger flowers.
The distance between bushes during continuous planting of helenium is maintained from 50 to 80 centimeters, depending on the variety. The best time disembarkation for middle zone In Russia it is the end of May or the first ten days of June; in other regions the dates move in one direction or another, the main thing is that there is no frost. If cold mornings are likely, plants should be covered with film or a covering non-woven material.
Heleniums prefer neutral and well-fertilized soil. When preparing the hole, keep in mind that seedlings cannot be buried below the pot level.
Advice! When planting seedlings on permanent place Water the earthen ball generously for faster plant survival.
Care
Heleniums are quite unpretentious plants, and caring for them is easy. It is necessary to monitor the condition of the soil, preventing it from drying out. To reduce moisture evaporation, soil mulching is used. This is best done with fine-grained materials, such as peat or compost.
During the dry period, if necessary, carry out rare but abundant watering, adding at least 10 liters of water under the bush.
During the season, it is advisable to do three feedings:
- Spring. It is carried out after the snow has melted; it serves to enrich the soil with nutrients during the initial growth period. It is best to carry it out dry, by adding compost or humus to the root zone. You can use dried chicken manure or mullein.
- Summer. It is carried out with herbal infusion before the bush blooms.
- Autumn. After cutting off the old shoots, the soil is covered with a layer of organic matter. As it rots, it will provide food for soil microorganisms, and at the same time cover the emerging rosettes of new helenium sprouts.
Trimming
When growing heleniums, pruning is carried out every autumn, completely cutting out all faded shoots almost flush with the ground, while trying not to damage the young rosettes.
In addition, partial pruning of faded buds is carried out; this event brings new flowers to life and prolongs the flowering period of the bush.
Shelter
In snowless, frosty winters, ground helenium rosettes can freeze. To prevent this from happening, you should cover the bush. For this, materials such as:
- sawdust;
- needles;
- non-woven material.
Very interesting video about heleniums with an interesting commentary logically completes our today's story about this plant:
For those who have decided to grow this attractive chamomile-like flower on their property for the first time, the following recommendations will be of interest: helenium - planting and care. By the way, this is a plant loved by gardeners and landscape designers all over the world, which fits well into any design of plots, gardens and even individual flower beds.
Photo 1. The birthplace of helenium is Central and North America.
Description of Helenium
There are more than 30 species of Heleniums (a genus of annuals and perennials of the Asteraceae family). Their homeland is Central and North America. There is a legend according to which the beautiful Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, kidnapped by enemies and imprisoned in a tower, cried about her grief, and her tears, falling to the ground, flared up with a bright flame and turned into golden flowers. They were called Heleniums. Modest and unremarkable until a certain time, at the end of summer they bloom with warm and velvety colors and charm with their unusual beauty.
The roots of perennial helenium die in winter, but the underground buds remain.
Perennial helenium is not what we are used to thinking of as perennial flowers. In the cold weather, plants die off along with their roots, but their underground buds have already formed leaf rosettes, which will produce new shoots in the spring. What appears to be a bush from afar is actually a multitude of closely growing erect flower stalks branching at the top. The height of the “bush” can reach up to 1.5 m, although there are low-growing varieties. The plant has lanceolate, alternate leaves. Flower baskets can be single or collected in corymbose inflorescences. The baskets are painted in yellow, orange, red, brown and purple tones, and are also available in two colors. The fruit is a pubescent achene with an elongated shape. Helenium has an interesting property of changing color during the growing season. Yellow bushes turn orange, red bushes turn brown.
A photograph of helenium conveys the beauty and unusualness of the flower much better than words (photo 1).
Reproduction methods
Decorative flowers are propagated in two ways: by seeds and vegetatively - by separating rosettes and cuttings.
Helenium seeds must be collected in the fall.
Helenium seeds are collected in the fall. This must be done before the prolonged autumn rains begin. As soon as the cone turns black and the reed flowers darken, the seeds are ripe. But it is not a fact that a plant grown from collected seeds will be a copy of its “parent”. In addition, the germination rate of freshly harvested seeds is quite low. Therefore, it is better to purchase seeds in a specialized store, where helenium is presented in various varieties.
The seeds are sown in the ground in the fall, and by summer young flower bushes will have formed. A early spring(late February - early March) you can sow them in containers for seedlings. After the seeds are sown, the container is wrapped in polyethylene and placed in the refrigerator in the vegetable department for 1-1.5 months. This process is called stratification. Then the container is placed in a warm place with good lighting. The air temperature should be +18-22 degrees. Seedlings sprout with 2-3 true leaves, and helenium will bloom only after a year.
The most effective way to propagate a flower is to separate the rosettes. They are planted in May, when the likelihood of night frosts is reduced to zero. You can propagate Helenium and stem cuttings during stem growth. The cuttings are cut and rooted in the soil. You can pre-hold them in the rooting mixture. Optimal density planting rosettes and cuttings - 4-5 per 1 square. m.
Planting and caring for ornamental plants
Watering helenium should be frequent and quite abundant.
It is better to choose a sunny area, but heleniums also grow and bloom well in the shade. The soil should be well-drained, neutral, light and nutritious. Before planting, the soil is dug up with compost onto the bayonet of a shovel.
For planting, holes are prepared that are 2 times larger than the root ball of the plant. Helenium roots are dipped in water for a few minutes to soak in moisture, then planted at the same depth at which the plant grew in the box. The minimum planting pattern is 30x35 cm. Then the soil is mulched with humus or peat.
The peculiarity of helenium is that dry soil inhibits it. Watering should be frequent and abundant, especially on hot days. At the same time, the plant does not tolerate too wet soil. Regular weeding and shallow (7 cm deep) loosening are required. Mulching the soil after planting will make it easier to kill weeds.
Fertilizing is carried out 3 times with mineral and organic fertilizers:
- In May. For 10 liters of water, take 1 tbsp. l. organic fertilizer Effekton, potassium sulfate, urea. Consumption - 3-4 liters per 1 sq. m.
- Late August - early September. For 10 liters of water take 1 liter liquid mullein, 1 tbsp. l. liquid Agricola-fantasy and Agricola-7. Consumption - 2-3 liters per 1 sq. m.
- At the end of October. For 10 liters of water take 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and superphosphate. Consumption - 5 l per 1 sq. m.
Photo 2. Bright flower bushes of heleniums will decorate any area in the country.
You can spray the plant for better budding with growth regulator Bud (take 10 g per 10 liters).
For more lush flowering You need to remove wilted inflorescences. Pinching the tops increases the branching and density of the bushes.
Before the onset of winter cold, the stems of the plant are cut off, leaving small tails above the ground. Then the area is mulched with sawdust or moss and covered with lutrasil in case of a snowless winter or severe frosts. If the winters are mild, the plant will survive them well without shelter. Over time, helenium loses its frost-resistant properties, and the soil under it is depleted, so it must be replanted every 4 years.
Heleniums in the design of plots
Bright flower bushes can decorate any area (photo 2). From tall plants They make monoplantations that perfectly camouflage fences and buildings that have an unpresentable appearance. In a flowerbed, helenium is placed in the center so that shorter plants are not blocked by spreading tall flowers. Low-growing varieties are used to make picturesque borders.
Photo 3. Very beautiful decorative flower is Helenium hybrid.
Heleniums combine very beautifully with asters, rudbeckias, sedums and ornamental shrubs. They look no less impressive in bouquets, but you should keep in mind that flowers that have not fully opened will not bloom in water.
Some types of helenium are designed specifically for garden decoration. For example, Helenium autumnale, popularly called the “sneezing plant,” and Helenium bigelow. In the old days, dry leaves of helenium autumnalis were used in the manufacture of tobacco, which, when inhaled, caused sneezing, thereby expelling evil spirits from the body. Usually the plant grows up to 1 m, but there are species that reach 2 m. Heleniums can vary in color: yellow, red-brown, orange. The flowering period is from August to October. The flower does not like a large amount of fertilizing.
And Helenium bigelow blooms in June-July, the middle flowers have brown, reed - yellow. The height of the plant is 80 cm. At the same time, the helenium gupes blooms.
There are plants that bloom in spring. The flower is called spring helenium. Its height reaches 1 m; from mid-May to mid-June it pleases the eye with orange-brown flowers.
A very attractive decorative flower is hybrid helenium (photo 3).
There are a lot of plant varieties, and everyone can choose their favorite helenium and use it in landscaping their plot, creating beautiful and intricate flower beds and green hedges.
There are more than 30 species of heleniums in the world today, growing mainly in North and Central America. These annual and perennial plants belong to the Asteraceae family. Heleniums are invisible on the site almost all summer, and only at the end of summer, when the bright colors of their neighbors gradually fade, do they (which seemed invisible before) come into the arena - moderately bright and colorful, with golden baskets of warm shades.
An interesting feature of this plant is its “perenniality”. In fact, by winter, the roots and peduncles die, but from the underground buds remaining on the annual stem, a leaf rosette with new roots is formed, which will grow a peduncle next year. It seems to us that there is an overgrown helenium bush growing in the garden bed, which we planted earlier, but in fact these are already independent plants growing close to each other.
The length of the helenium stem can reach 1.5 m. The leaves are alternate lanceolate. The baskets can be either single or collected in corymbose-type inflorescences. These flowers, depending on the specific variety, are purple, red, yellow, brown or orange colors(the central part is usually yellow or brown). After flowering, pubescent achenes of an elongated cylindrical shape are formed.
Types of helenium
As noted above, there are more than 30 varieties of helenium in the world, but only 5 of them are suitable for growing in Russian dachas:
- Helenium autumnalis is the most common variety in summer cottages our country. The lignified stems are strong and tall (up to 160 cm in height). The leaves are small in size with a characteristic serrated edge. 3-5 cm baskets are collected in corymbose inflorescences, which can be up to 30 cm in diameter. Reed flowers are yellow or yellow-reddish, tubular flowers are deep yellow (like egg yolk). The flowering period lasts from July to September.
- Gelenium Gupesa - plants up to 90 cm high. Grayish-green leaves are entire lanceolate. Peduncles are long. Single yellow inflorescences have a diameter of about 9 cm. Flowering lasts from June to July.
- Helenium spring - flowering plant, the stems of which reach a height of about 1 m. The leaves are entire, lanceolate. The inflorescences have a diameter of up to 7 cm. The reed flowers are yellow-orange, and the tubular ones are colored brown. Flowering occurs in mid-May and continues until the end of June.
- Helenium Bigelow - quite rare to imagine. Straight stems reach a height of 80 cm. Leaves are lanceolate, entire. The diameter of the inflorescences is up to 6 cm. The reed flowers are colored yellow, and the tubular (middle) ones are brown. Flowering begins in June and lasts until the end of July.
- Gelenium hybrid combines the characteristics different varieties, however, autumnal helenium acts as its basis.
The best varieties for the garden: “Moerheim Beauty”, “Cockade”, “Rubintsverg” (aka “Ruby Gnome”).
Helenium propagation
Helenium is most often propagated by leaf rosettes and by dividing the bush (dividing 2-3 year old bushes is done in the spring; this is the best way to propagate varietal helenium, characteristic features parents are preserved). The seed method is less commonly used (suitable for propagating the species helenium, when the varietal characteristics of the parents are not required to be fixed). In the latter case, the seeds can be sown in open ground in autumn or spring, or in late February - early March - for seedlings.
When using the seedling method, it is necessary to perform stratification. Landing capacity wrapped with seeds plastic bag and put in the vegetable section of the refrigerator for 1-1.5 months. At the end of this period, the container is taken out and placed in a warm place (+18...+22 C) with artificial lighting. At the stage of 2-3 true leaves, seedlings are planted in separate cups. Planting in open ground is carried out no earlier than the end of May, when the threat of night frosts has completely passed. The area should be sunny or slightly shaded. It is best to give preference to light, nutritious, well-drained soils with a neutral pH. Before planting helenium seedlings, the area should be dug up along with compost to a depth of about 25-30 cm.
The planting hole should be approximately 2 times larger than the planting ball. Before planting, the roots of the plant (along with a lump of earth on them) are immersed in water for several minutes so that they “drink” properly. Helenium seedlings need to be planted so that they are approximately at the same depth as before transplanting. Optimal distance between adjacent plantings in a row - about 30 cm, the rows themselves should be removed from each other at a distance of 35-40 cm. Upon completion of planting, the ridges are mulched with humus or peat. Grown seedling method helenium blooms only in the second year.
By the way, the seeds need to be collected before the period of prolonged autumn rains begins. Harvesting occurs after the reed and tubular flowers turn black.
Helenium care
The main thing to remember when growing helenium is that this plant does not tolerate dry soil. During particularly dry periods of summer, watering should be frequent and abundant. However, it is not recommended to flood these plants the rest of the time. Loose soil, which does not allow water to stagnate for a long time, saves you from overflowing. Therefore, loosening, combined with weeding, are important measures when growing heleniums. To avoid wasting time on weeding, mulch the soil.
Heleniums are fed three times per season:
- The first feeding is carried out in May, 1 tbsp is diluted in a bucket of water. l. urea, 1 tbsp. organic fertilizer "Effecton" and 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate. To treat 1 m2, about 3.5 liters of the resulting solution are used.
- The time for the second feeding comes during the flowering period. Take 1 liter of liquid cow dung, add 1 tbsp to it. l. "Agricola-7" and 1 tbsp. l. "Agricola Fantasies". Dilute the resulting composition in a bucket of water. To treat 1 m2, use about 2.5 liters of the resulting mixture.
- Towards the end of October, dilute 1 tbsp in a bucket of water. l. potassium sulfate and 1 tbsp. superphosphate. Use 5 liters of the resulting fertilizer per 1 m2.
Also, at the very beginning of the budding period, spray the plants with growth regulator “Bud” (10 g of the drug per bucket of water).
To maintain the splendor of flowering at the proper level, wilted flowers should be removed in time.
Approximately once every 2-3 years, in spring time, heleniums should be transplanted to a new location. Usually this procedure combined with vegetative propagation.
Diseases and pests
Among diseases, heleniums can “attack” rot. To prevent this from happening to your flowers, try to maintain an optimal water balance in the soil.
Wintering helenium
At the end of autumn, helenium stems must be cut almost to ground level (leaving stumps about 10-15 cm high). At the end of pruning, the surface should be mulched with sawdust or moss, and covered with lutrasil on top, which will reliably protect the plants during severe frosts, as well as in the case of a winter with little snow.
It is believed that Helenium owes its name to Helen, the wife of Menelaus. It was because of her that the war broke out between Troy and Greece, which we learned about from Homer’s Iliad. We will talk further about what varieties of helenium there are, about planting and caring for this flower in the open ground, about methods of propagation and cultivation.
Helenium: varieties and varieties
Helenium has more than 30 species, but only five of them have been cultivated.
The most popular varieties of helenium are:
Numerous photos of this plant will help you choose a helenium variety for your garden.
Planting a plant
Helenium prefers sunny areas, although some varieties can be grown in partial shade. Also make sure that the soil is fertile; to do this, dig up the future bed with humus and mineral fertilizers.
Planting helenium with seeds is common and quite effective way. In the northern regions it is recommended to sow seeds for seedlings, while in southern regions Helenium can be sown directly into open ground.
Helenium seedlings are planted in February. Seeds are sown in boxes with prepared soil, and when the first three leaves appear, the seedlings are planted. You need to plant no more than 4–5 bushes per square meter in open ground. m., because Helenium has a fairly large root system, requiring considerable space for full development.
Choose a sunny place in the garden for helenium
The hole for helenium seedlings should be twice the size of the root ball. First, the root must be kept in water for 5–7 minutes so that it is saturated with moisture. The planting depth should be the same as the plant was in the pot or seedling box. After all the seedlings are planted, mulch the soil with peat or humus.
Already in the second year, plants grown in this way will begin to bloom.
Helenium is sown in open ground in March or early April. The soil for the flower bed should be well fertilized with organic fertilizers. After sowing the seeds, the flowerbed must be covered with film or glass.
Attention. Do not forget to ventilate the bed with helenium.
You can also sow seeds in open ground for the winter.
Helenium care
Growing and caring for helenium is simple if you follow just a few rules:
Watering. The first and basic rule of care is sufficient and timely watering. Helenium does not tolerate dry soils. Helenium needs to be watered frequently, especially in dry seasons.
It is very important to water helenium in a timely manner.
Advice. For helenium, it is best to use drip irrigation.
Loosening. Despite all its love for watering, helenium does not like too wet soil. Make sure that the soil drains well, and also carry out shallow loosening of the soil and mulching.
Shelter for the winter. As winter approaches, the plant must be protected from frost. To do this, the stems are cut, leaving only 10 cm from the ground and covered with sawdust, spruce branches or special material. So, in the event of a snowless or frosty winter, your plant will be able to easily withstand bad weather.
Advice. In order for helenium to bloom long and luxuriantly, remove those inflorescences that have already faded. And pinching the top will make your bush branchier and denser.
Fertilizer and feeding
During the summer season, helenium needs feeding and application of organic and mineral fertilizers three times:
Helenium propagation
A helenium bush is actually a bunch of individual, self-sufficient plants. Like most perennial plants Helenium stems only live for one season. The main feature of helenium is that, unlike other perennials, its root collar also dies off by the end of the season. But by this time, the renewal buds are already forming small rosettes near the stem, which continue to grow in the new season.
The easiest way to propagate helenium is by dividing the bush
Due to this growth feature, the best way Helenium propagation is considered vegetative. The bush itself is divided into rosettes, which you simply need to plant in the place you need. The bush needs to be divided at least once every three years, because by then it will form up to 30 new plants.
In addition, in summer you can propagate by rooting cuttings.
Diseases and pests
Helenium is disease resistant
Helenium in combination with other plants
Helenium in the beds coexists well with almost all perennials that love sunny places and abundant watering. However, it should be remembered that helenium is sufficient tall flower, therefore it can create an unwanted shadow for some light-loving plants.
Helenium in combination with daylily
IN landscape design helenium is often used to disguise unaesthetic fences and buildings, since tall two-meter bushes can easily hide imperfections.
Most often, heleniums are planted in the background of flower beds along with other autumn flowers, such as delphinium and rudbeckia.
Monochromatic flower beds in which marigolds are combined with helenium look good, garden species yarrow, goldenrod, heuchera. Low-growing varieties of helenium are used to frame borders. But in this case, the bushes need to be divided more often and given the necessary shape. Don't be afraid to experiment, look at the photos that will help you determine the place for helenium in your garden.
Helenium in landscape design
These flowers are good not only in landscape design, but also in cutting. But it is necessary to remember that already blossoming heleniums are cut off, because the buds do not open in water. Surprise your teacher by giving her a bouquet of bright heleniums instead of the usual asters and gladioli.
Many beginners, and sometimes even experienced, gardeners do not take up planting helenium, mistakenly believing that this beautiful flower is complex and very difficult to care for. And thus they deprive their garden of wonderful warm colors, preserving the sunny island blooming summer until late autumn.
Helenium on a personal plot: video
Varieties of helenium: photo
Flower helenium (lat. Helenium) is a genus of annuals and perennials in the Asteraceae family, numbering 32 species, which grow in Central and North America, mainly in the Western United States. It is generally accepted that the helenium plant was named after the wife of King Menelaus, the beautiful Helen, because of whom the war between Greece and Troy broke out, described by Homer in the Iliad. What is remarkable about helenium flowers? First of all, precisely because of its unremarkability - for the time being. When at the end of summer the riot of colors in the garden subsides, you suddenly discover with interest somewhere on the side a modest helenium bush that you had not noticed yesterday. And today, its golden baskets, which can change their color, attract your attention with their not very elegant, but warm, calm and cozy beauty...
Peculiarities
Location: Heleniums are light-loving, but tolerate partial shade.
Soil: prefer fertile, well-cultivated and neutral soils provided with moisture.
Care
When placing heleniums in the garden, remember where and how they live in nature: moist, fertile meadow soils, dense herbs.
They will feel great in densely planted flower beds. Low-growing varieties can be planted in the foreground or in borders, while tall varieties can be planted in the background. Majestic bushes look beautiful as tapeworms against the background of the lawn. In this case, they need regular watering, as they do not tolerate dry soil well.
We must not forget about watering in dry and hot summers. Heleniums respond well to mineral and organic fertilizers, which is sufficient to carry out two or three times per season. After three or four years you need to think about replanting - the bushes quickly age. It is not advisable to carry it out in the fall. If you nevertheless purchased a flowering helenium at the end of the season, before planting, cut the stem to a height of 10–12 cm and try to injure the root system as little as possible.
Those who have grown Heleniums know that, for all its unpretentiousness, an adult and quite healthy bush in the conditions of the Moscow region may suddenly not survive the winter, although the plant is recommended for the fourth climate zone. This is explained by the peculiarities of its structure.
The autumn helenium bush can only conditionally be called a bush. Strictly speaking, this is a colony of independent plants. Flowering stems, like many perennials, last only one season. But, unlike them, at the end of the season, not only the stem of Helenium dies, but also the root collar, and renewal buds at the base of the stem by this time often form small rosettes. They are independent plants with their own completely autonomous root system. If the winter is snowy or without severe frosts, young plants overwinter well, and in frosty and snowless winters they easily freeze out. This circumstance is aggravated when we are dealing with varieties that were created using other types of Heleniums, in particular, the more heat-loving Helenium Bigelow.
When preparing for winter, mulch the plant with moss or sawdust and cover it with lutrasil. For better wintering, trim and mulch adult plants as well.
Types and varieties
There are about 30 species of this perennial in nature, but only 5 of them have been cultivated:
- Helenium autumn (in the photo). Reaches a height of 1 meter. Proper care promotes rapid flowering from August to October. This species served as the basis for breeders to recreate many varieties that not only have more large flowers, but also the flowering period exceeds one to two months. To decide on the variety that is needed specifically for your garden, look at the photo and decide. The most common varieties of this species are Pumilum Magnificum, Bruno, Kupfersprudel, Butterpat.
- Helenium hoopa (H. hoopesii)- has bright yellow flowers reaching 10 centimeters in diameter.
- Helenium bigelovii (H. bigelovii)– reaches a height of 80 centimeters. The flowers are large, yellow, very bright.
- Spring helenium (H. vernalis)– a very unpretentious and winter-hardy species.
- Hybrid Helenium (H. x.hybridum). It includes many hybrid varieties, the origin of which is unknown. They have different sizes, shape and color of flowers. They are all very beautiful, look at the photos. The height and duration of flowering also vary. Main varieties: Gartcnsonne, Goldlackzwer, Rothaut.
- Helenium perennial. The name speaks for itself - it is perennial variety. Planting and caring for this variety are no different from the previous ones.
Reproduction
Helenium reproduces in two ways.
Reproduction by rosettes
Experienced gardeners recognize this method as the simplest and most effective. The thing is that these flowers have one very interesting feature– before the onset of winter, the entire plant dies, but many buds remain in the ground. Closer to spring, rosettes of leaves sprout from the buds, which are used as planting material. They are dug up, divided and planted in several pieces at a permanent place of growth.
Propagation by seeds
This method is not so effective and simple, since helenium seeds have poor germination. The way out of the situation is to sow for the winter, then the chances of getting seedlings increase. 
They do it like this:
- Seeds are sown on soil well fertilized with organic matter.
- After sowing, cover with non-woven material and, not forgetting to water and ventilate, wait for the first shoots to appear.
- When 2 or 3 true leaves appear, the young helenium is picked.
Planting in open ground is carried out in the first ten days of June, when the soil has warmed up sufficiently and the threat of frost has passed.
At the same time, plants should not be planted densely, as their root system grows quickly. For 1 m2, 4 or 5 bushes are enough, but no more.
When using this method of propagating helenium, be patient, because you will only be able to admire the flowers after two to three years.
Pests and diseases
Helenium is resistant to pests, but sometimes suffers from chrysanthemum nematode, which damages flower buds and leaves. Affected parts of the plant must be cut off and burned. If the pest was observed on the site previously, before planting it is necessary to add ground sulfur (50 g/m2) or slaked lime (100 g/m2) to the soil. And in the last days of June and July, the plant should be treated with a solution of thiophos (0.2%). Helenium is practically not susceptible to infections, but can suffer from waterlogging. Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor the water balance of the soil. Of course, the unpretentious and hardy helenium is worthy of settling in your garden for many years. This wonderful plant, even with the most minimal care, can bring the gardener many happy moments, prolonging the passing summer and joyfully welcoming autumn.
Stages of preparation before planting helenium in open ground
Preparation before planting a plant is the key to obtaining a strong and healthy flower in the future that will great decoration your site. If your site doesn't already have this beautiful flower and you have no place to get planting material from, it is important to purchase high-quality seedlings in the store. Also take into account all the characteristics of the plant and select the most suitable one for your site. suitable place for its active growth.
Stage 1. Selection of seedlings
- It is best to buy helenium as seedlings in separate containers in specialized stores. It is better to refuse to purchase planting material at spontaneous markets or from strangers, so you risk getting low-quality material.
- Before purchasing, ask your consultant about all the features of growing a particular variety of helenium.
- It is also important to carefully examine the seedling. There should be no damage, signs of disease or pests, or dry soil in the container.
- When purchasing a helenium seedling, you need to take into account the future location of the plants. Purchase taller varieties for single plantings or planting along a fence, and shorter varieties for edging flower beds.
Stage 2. Choosing a place to plant helenium
Helenium is very ornamental plant, so the ideal place for its full growth would be a well-lit area. It is in such conditions that you will receive beautiful plant with abundant and bright flowering. However, this culture does well in light partial shade.
When choosing a place to plant helenium, take into account the garden composition you have in mind. These bright colors you can perfectly decorate nondescript buildings or a fence, and lower varieties can be used to frame borders.
Stage 3. Soil preparation
This crop thrives in fertile, light and permeable soils. The soil must have a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Helenium is unpretentious plant, however, it is best to prepare the soil before planting. It is important that it is drained, since stagnation of water at the roots is also detrimental to helenium. The selected area needs to be dug well, about the size of a shovel. When cultivating the soil, you can add a little compost, since the plant responds very well to the addition of various nutrients.
Technology for planting helenium in open ground
Which varieties are in demand and grow well?
The most popular variety of helenium is Rubincverg. It is distinguished by its rich bright red petals, and their edges are yellowish. Rubincverg Helenium flowers reach 60 cm in height, bloom in early July and delight the eye until mid-September.
If you want to see flowering in mid-summer, then you should plant the red and yellow helenium Lava bush. The petals of this type of perennial seem to be velvety and have a rich pearl-burgundy color. The plant will bloom in early or mid-July and will delight you with a riot of colors until the end of August. Its flowering period is more than 60 days. Helenium Lava overwinters without shelter, grows to 1-1.5 meters in height, even a photo of this variety of Helenium in flower beds looks very bright.
Also of interest are the Helenium varieties Kokarda and Canaria, whose flowers grow 1.2 meters upward, and the Moerheim Beauty variety. In Europe and America, this type of garden flowers is very popular and is planted in literally every yard. In Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, hybrid helenium is most often planted.
Helenium after flowering
How and when to collect helenium seeds.
If you want to collect helenium seeds, you must do this before the prolonged autumn rains, otherwise the seeds will rot. Darkened ligulate flowers and blackened tubular flowers will tell you that the seeds are ripe. But, as has already been said, it is better to buy helenium seeds in specialized stores, since the ones you collect, despite all your efforts, may not sprout, and even if they sprout, it is not a fact that you will end up with what you sowed. Don’t waste your efforts, buy seeds or use vegetative methods of propagating helenium.
Helenium in winter.
For winter, helenium stems are cut almost to the surface of the ground, leaving only 10-15 cm of stems. After pruning, the area is mulched with moss or sawdust and covered with lutrasil in case of severe frosts or snowless winters.
