About this cultivar: Helenium 'Waltraut' is another cultivar that has the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (unanimous decision by the trial committee!) The 2001 RHS AGM Trial notes say 'Height 1.3m. Uniform. Two shade flowers (golden overlaid copper-orange) with brown centres and rusty orange undersides mature to a soft orange.' It is a Gustav Deutschmann introduction from 1947, ‘Waltraut’ is a girl’s name, the female form of Walther. Presumably his sweetheart.... Position: Full sun, partial shade Soil: Almost any soil, grows well in Ballyrobert Flowers: July, August, September Other features: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (RHS AGM), Grows well in Ballyrobert Hardiness: H7 - Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20°C), Fully hardy - grows well in Ballyrobert! Habit: Clump forming, Columnar or Upright Foliage: Deciduous Height: 120 - 150cm (4 - 5 ft) Spread: 60 - 75 cm (2 - 2.5 ft) Time to full growth: 2 to 5 years Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial Colour: Green, red, yellow, orange Goes well with: Crocosmia, Alstroemeria, or Dahlia. Aconitum, Salvia, or Agapanthus. Dark foliage; try Eupatorium, Actea, Cotinus etc. About this genus: Helenium (Hel-e-ne-um) is a genus of about 40 species of annuals and deciduous herbaceous perennials in the daisy family (Asteraceae) native to the Americas. We only grow perennial cultivars though! They bear yellow,red, or orange daisy-like flowers. A number of these species (particularly Helenium autumnale) have the common name sneezeweed, based on the former use of their dried leaves in making snuff, inhaled to cause sneezing that would supposedly rid the body of evil spirits. The name possibly means Helen-Flower after Helen of Troy, a legend has it these plants sprang from her tears! Like most plants in the daisy family Helenium prefer full sun but will be fine in part shade. Also, like many daisies, Helenium still look great when the petals fall because the seed heads are like little globe structures on the end of stems. We had trouble growing some supposedly-good cultivars in the past but we finally found a few cultivars that do really well for us in our wet-clay garden at Ballyrobert- most of them are offered here unless we are out of stock! One way to use Helenium in the garden is too complement the warm tones by blending it with equally sunny and vibrant flowers. Crocosmia, Alstroemeria, or Dahlia spring to mind. Also try an orange-blue combo with Aconitum, Salvia, or Agapanthus. One of our favorite combos is hot colours on dark foliage; try Eupatorium, Actea, Cotinus etc.
