IMG_6361 Medium (3).jpeg
IMG_6362 Medium (1).jpeg
IMG_5600 Medium.jpeg
IMG_6360+Medium+%281%29.jpg

Sneezeweed 'Helena Red Shades' (Helenium autumnale)

from $8.99

Botanical name: Helenium autumnale • Bloom season: Late summer to fall • Bloom color: Red and copper shades

Daisies in warm red and copper with a raised central knob, on a compact plant that flowers from late summer into fall. The color is unusual: rusty and burnt rather than clear, so it sits well with grasses and late-season golds. It blooms as summer perennials wind down, feeding butterflies and bees through the transition into autumn.

Botanical name: Helenium autumnale • Bloom season: Late summer to fall • Bloom color: Red and copper shades

Daisies in warm red and copper with a raised central knob, on a compact plant that flowers from late summer into fall. The color is unusual: rusty and burnt rather than clear, so it sits well with grasses and late-season golds. It blooms as summer perennials wind down, feeding butterflies and bees through the transition into autumn.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Helenium autumnale

Cultivar: 'Helena Red Shades'

Common Name: Sneezeweed

Native: Cultivar

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Late summer to fall

Bloom Color: Red and copper shades

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 18" x H 18"-24"

Soil: Moist, well-drained

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Pacific Northwest; California Floristic Province (also widespread eastern/central N.A.)

Growing Notes

Full sun and moist, well-drained ground. This is one of the thirstiest plants in the catalog, and it will not be happy on a dry, unwatered slope, so put it in an irrigated bed or a low spot that holds moisture. Space about 18 inches apart. It is naturally tall, and this compact selection stays upright without staking.

  • Water: Moderate

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Moist, well-drained; wants more water than most of this catalog

  • Mature size: 24 to 48 in by 18 in

Maintenance

Pinch the growing tips once in early summer for a bushier plant and more flowers, if you want them. Leave the stems standing through winter and cut back in late spring, keeping about a third for insects. Divide every three years, since the clump declines in the middle if left alone too long. Do not let it dry out completely in summer.