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Autumn Gelenium is considered the most common species of the same genus in culture. Its flowering begins relatively late, but pleases with splendor and abundance. On each of the numerous branched shoots, up to several hundred buds are tied. In August, they open up with bright, golden yellow flowers. The latter resemble small suns with a large number of petal rays bent away from a convex core. By the end of summer, the benefit performance of many bright flowers, invariably capturing the eyes, ends, and the flaming helenium bushes, meeting the beginning of autumn in all their glory, give the garden a second wind, allowing it to look cozy and elegant at the same time.
It is not difficult to grow this perennial. You can use the seedling method, or sow seeds directly into open ground, root the cuttings in the spring, or divide large bushes at the right time. Autumn Gelenium is undemanding to care for, and even a novice florist will certainly cope with creating favorable conditions for him. The combination of this delicate beautiful perennial, blooming luxuriantly and brightly, with other plants, in particular with autumn flowers, will transform the garden at the end of the season, decorating it with original, intricate flower beds and compositions.
Description of autumn helenium
Helenium autumn (in Latin Helenium autumnale) was given to the world by North America. Under natural conditions, it prefers to grow in flooded meadows and swamps, along roadsides. He is photophilous and needs fertile soil. Provided with suitable conditions, it grows rapidly in the garden, forming lush shrubs that bloom profusely and brightly from early August to late September.
Depending on the variety, autumn helenium bushes can reach 0.5-1.3 m in height. They are characterized by a columnar shape. Each plant has 1 to 7 straight, strong, slightly pubescent, dark green stems branching at the top.
Bright, lush blooming bushes of autumn helenium - a real decoration of the garden at the end of the season
The root system of autumn helenium is superficial, underdeveloped.
The leaves are arranged along the entire height of the shoots in a regular order. Their elongated, lanceolate plates can be fluffy or bare, have smooth or serrated edges. They are colored a little lighter than the stem.
The inflorescence of autumn helenium has the shape of a basket with a diameter of 3-6 cm. Its convex high core consists of 200-400 tubular flowers. Most often they are colored dark gold, burgundy or brown. The marginal ligulate flowers are spread out to the sides, resembling a ballet tutu. Their length is from 10 to 23 mm.
Each basket of autumn helenium is located on a long thin bracts (3-10 cm). The latter, in turn, are united in panicles or scutes up to 30 cm in diameter. On one plant, there can be from 5 to 70 pieces.
On each stem, about 15-20 inflorescences bloom at a time. They can be simple, semi-double or terry and differ in shades of red and yellow tones.
The fruits of autumn helenium ripen after pollination, by October. These are oblong, cylindrical achenes of light brown color. Their length is usually 1–2 mm. They are slightly pubescent and have a tuft of 5-7 scales.
Popular varieties
On the basis of this species, breeders have developed a significant number of varieties that look great in garden design. Below are photos and descriptions of some of the most interesting autumn helenium hybrids: Ruby Tuesday, Double Trouble, Chelsey, Moerheim Beauty, Fiesta.
Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday, or Ruby Tuesday, is characterized by multiple small (up to 3 cm in diameter) flowers, painted in burgundy-red tones, with yellow-brown embossed cores. The stems of the plant are smooth: the edge, which is common for most varieties of this species, is absent on them.
Ruby Tuesday is one of the shortest hybrids of autumn helenium. The height of its bush does not exceed 50 cm. Another distinctive feature of it is the relatively early start of the flowering period: usually the end of the first week of July. Due to its compact size, this variety of autumn helenium is excellent for growing in containers.
Ruby Tuesday hybrid is one of the shortest varieties of autumn helenium
Double Trouble
A hybrid with a funny name that means "Double Trouble" is actually extremely effective and beautiful. It is the only terry variety of gelenium in the world. Its double ligulate flowers are bright lemon in color, and the convex "eye" in the middle is greenish-gold. Autumn Gelenium Bushes Double Trouble grow up to 80 cm, and the diameter of its inflorescence is on average 4.5 cm.The variety does not change color throughout the entire flowering period, from late July to late September.
Double Trouble - the world's only terry helenium
Chelsey (Chelsea)
A relatively new hybrid, bred on the basis of autumn helenium in 2005. The height of the Chelsea stems is 60-80 cm. The diameter of the inflorescences varies from 5 to 8 cm. Their central convex part is painted in a rich red-brown color with a golden "belt" flowers combine two shades: crimson and bright yellow. The area and intensity of yellow spots directly depends on the amount of sunlight that affected the plant, and may differ in inflorescences on different bushes. The flowering period is from mid-July to the end of August.
The two-tone Chelsea variety appears to be painted with irregular strokes of watercolors.
Moerheim Beauty
One of the most famous varieties of autumn helenium. It is a vigorous, tall (90 to 120 cm) plant with strong shoots, resistant to wind and does not require support. The ligulate flowers are bronze-red immediately after the inflorescences open, but over time they turn red-orange. The central part is velvety burgundy. The diameter of its large inflorescences is about 6.5 cm. It blooms from early August to October.
Strong and durable stems of the tall variety Moerchem Beauty do not need support
Fiesta
A distinctive feature of the autumn Gelenium Fiesta ("Holiday") variety is its variegated edge flowers. Due to their unusual color - yellow edges on both sides and orange middle, in the inflorescence they form a wide fiery red ring on a gold background, looking very elegant. The height of the Fiesta bush is 80-100 cm, the diameter of the basket is about 5 cm. The flowering period is August-September.
The peculiarity of the color of the Fiesta inflorescences is a fiery red ring on a bright yellow background
Application in landscape design
Autumn Gelenium is a real find for florists and landscape designers. You can easily find many options for decorating your home and garden with this vibrant plant that blooms profusely and luxuriantly:
- autumn helenium will perfectly cope with the role of a tapeworm on a neat lawn;
- its high varieties look wonderful in joint plantings with other perennials blooming in the second half of summer: birchwood, rudbeckia, delphinium, heliopsis;
- tall bushes of autumn helenium perfectly mask and cover non-aesthetically pleasing fences or parts of outbuildings;
- this flower will be an excellent background in a multi-level cascading flower bed;
- group plantings of this plant will give the garden a bright and elegant look in late summer or early autumn;
- combinations of blooming autumn helenium, painted in warm colors, with snow-white paniculate phlox or autumn asters are very effective;
- compositions with companion plants matched to the given flower look beautiful and delicate: goldenrods, marigolds, heucheras, garden yarrow;
- the brightness of autumn helenium is successfully emphasized by the decorative grasses growing nearby.
It is worth knowing that this plant is an excellent fragrant honey plant that invariably attracts bees and butterflies to the garden.
Autumn Gelenium will wonderfully fit into any corner of the garden
Breeding features
Reproduction of autumn helenium is possible in the following ways:
- Seed (using seedlings or sowing directly into the open ground). This method is not very common. Seeds of autumn helenium do not differ in high germination, and the process of their germination is quite troublesome compared to other propagation options.
- By dividing the bush. Most often it is performed in spring (May) or early autumn. To do this, an adult 3-4-year-old autumn helenium bush is carefully dug up with roots and divided into several parts. The shoots of each of the divisions are cut to a height of 15 cm from the rhizome and the plants are planted in the selected places.
- By cuttings. Healthy branches of autumn helenium 10-12 cm long are cut in the spring and placed in a container with water to grow roots. Then the cuttings are planted in the ground and covered with transparent caps. After the first leaves appear on the shoots, the shelter is removed. A plant propagated in this way begins to bloom the next year after rooting.
The easiest way to reproduce autumn helenium is to divide the bush
Growing seedlings
The optimal time for planting seeds for seedlings is the second half of February or early March.
Since the seed material of autumn helenium is very small, it is optimal to use general rather than individual containers for germination. Seedling containers or boxes should be wide, but shallow, with the required number of holes in the bottom to drain excess water.
The substrate for the seeds of autumn helenium should be selected light and nutritious. Ready-made potting mix is ideal for flowering plants.
Sowing seeds of autumn helenium is carried out as follows:
- The boxes are filled with a substrate, having previously laid a thin layer of drainage (fine gravel, broken brick) on the bottom.
- Moisten the soil with water from a spray bottle.
- Seeds are evenly distributed over the soil surface, without burying them.
- Slightly sprinkle the crops with sand.
- Moisten the substrate again.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap and place the seeds of autumn helenium in the refrigerator on the vegetable shelf for 3-4 weeks.
After this period, the container with the crops is taken out, condensate is removed from under the "greenhouse" and the shelter is returned to its place.
The container is exposed to light (on a windowsill or under a lamp). The air temperature in the room is maintained at + 20 ° C. The soil is regularly moistened from the spray bottle as it dries, and the film is lifted from time to time, removing condensed moisture.
After the shoots of autumn helenium appear after 14-20 days, the shelter can be removed.
At the stage when seedlings have 2 full leaves, they should be dived, planted in separate containers. Peat pots are best suited for these purposes.
Planting of seedlings of autumn helenium on the site is carried out at the end of May or at the beginning of June. The soil should have time to warm up well by this time. Immediately before planting in open ground, the bushes are carefully removed from the pots and their roots are placed in water for 20-30 minutes.
Seeds of autumn helenium have low germination and definitely need stratification.
Planting and caring for autumn helenium in the open field
You can sow the seeds of this plant directly into open ground. You just need to know and observe the basic subtleties of planting and care.
Recommended timing
Seeds of autumn helenium are usually sown in the ground at this time:
- late autumn, late October or early November;
- in the spring, in April-May.
The sub-winter option is considered more preferable, since it allows the seed to undergo natural stratification. The germination rate of such seeds will be much higher.
Site selection and soil preparation
The area in the garden on which the autumn helenium is to grow should be:
- sunny, in extreme cases, half-shaded;
- reliably protected from drafts;
- ideally - with slightly acidic or neutral nutrient soil, which is well permeable to moisture.
Before sowing the seeds of autumn helenium, the soil on the site is carefully dug up, large lumps are broken with a shovel, debris and weeds are removed, and compost is applied. Lime can be added to too acidic soil.
Landing rules
The algorithm for planting autumn helenium seeds in an open area is as follows:
- In the prepared soil, shallow grooves are laid at a distance of about 25 cm.
- Seeds are evenly spread in them. Do not place them too close to each other.
- Lightly sprinkle the crops with soil, carefully covering them with no more than 3-5 cm.
- The garden is watered.
- After the soil dries up a little, mulch on top with a small layer of humus or peat.
- When sowing in spring, the area is covered with a transparent film or glass before the emergence of shoots. It will need to be lifted regularly, allowing fresh air to access the seedlings.
Autumn Gelenium will need to be planted when the plants reach about 10 cm in height. Ideally 1 sq. M. area should be only 3-4 bushes.
Before planting in open ground, the seedlings will need to be removed from the pots and immersed in the roots of the bushes for half an hour
Watering and feeding schedule
Due to the fact that autumn helenium is very difficult to tolerate drought, it needs regular and abundant watering, especially during dry periods of summer. At the same time, stagnation of moisture at the roots is also detrimental to the plant. To prevent this, every time after watering or heavy rain, the ground under the autumn helenium should be loosened. This must be done very carefully: the root system of the plant is close to the surface and it is very easy to damage it.
Top dressing of autumn helenium is carried out several times during the season, alternating organic fertilizers with mineral fertilizers. Its approximate scheme is as follows:
- in early May, at the stage of active development of the green mass of the bushes, they are watered with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, for example, urea, by dissolving 20 g of the substance in 10 liters of water;
- at the budding stage, to stimulate the flowering process, you will need to feed the autumn helenium with complex mineral compositions (Agricola-7, Agricola-Fantasy), mixing them with 1 liter of mullein and 10 liters of water;
- at the end of October, when preparing plants for winter, they are fed with potassium sulfate and superphosphate, dissolving 20 g of each drug in 10 liters of water.
Gelenium needs regular abundant watering and timely fertilizing
Weeding and mulching
Plantings of autumn helenium need regular weeding. This measure eliminates the need for the flower to compete with weeds for nutrients and moisture in the soil. In addition, dense growth in the area with autumn helenium can become the "cradle" of parasitic insects and condone the development of various diseases.
Mulching the soil under the plant helps to ease maintenance by helping to retain moisture and inhibiting weed growth. This procedure reduces the need for frequent weeding and loosening of the soil. As a mulch for autumn helenium, sawdust, dry peat or humus are perfect.
Pruning
Timely pruning will help the plant maintain its dense greenery and lush, beautiful shape, as well as delight the eye with abundant flowering. Pinching the tops of the autumn helenium shoots, carried out in early summer, will contribute to the best branching of the bush. In addition, during the entire flowering season, it is necessary to remove faded buds from plants, capturing a part of the stem. This will help extend the flowering time. In place of the cut areas, young shoots will quickly develop, on which buds will be tied up again later.
Preparing for winter
Autumn Gelenium belongs to winter-hardy plants, but it still needs some preparation for the cold season. It includes the following measures:
- in October, before the first frosts, the stems of autumn helenium should be cut off, leaving about 10 cm above the ground level;
- cover the rest of the plant for the winter with mulch from peat, moss, sawdust, fallen leaves;
- if winter is expected to be snowless or very frosty, it is also advisable to build additional protection from non-woven fabric (lutrasila) for autumn helenium.
Before the onset of frost, helenium is cut off, and then mulched with moss, peat or sawdust
Diseases and pests
If autumn helenium grows in favorable conditions and proper care is provided for it, then diseases and parasitic insects rarely harm its health.
Problems can appear if the soil in the area with this plant is often waterlogged. This can cause root rot, rapid wilting and death of the plant.
Of the pests for autumn helenium, chrysanthemum nematodes are a certain danger. These are worms that infect the foliage and flower buds of the plant. You can identify them by noticing numerous brown spots on the surface of leaf blades and buds. When attacked by nematodes, autumn helenium ceases to bloom.
Numerous brown spots on the leaves can be a sign of chrysanthemum nematode damage to the plant.
With a strong degree of damage, the plant is recommended to be dug up and burned. If there are few pests, you can try to save the plantings of autumn helenium. The affected areas should be cut and destroyed, and the plants should be watered with milk of lime or a solution of powdered sulfur.
As a preventive measure against nematodes, before planting autumn helenium, it is necessary to inspect the soil on the site. If these worms are found, sulfur or slaked lime will need to be added to the soil. At the end of July, the bushes are also advised to spray with a solution of Tiofos contact insecticide.
Conclusion
Autumn Gelenium is a bright and elegant decoration of the garden towards the end of the season.The densely branching shoots of this perennial are abundantly strewn with flowers in August and September, painted in all possible combinations of red, yellow and brown tones. Autumn Gelenium is good not only in the design of the site, but also in the cut, allowing you to create beautiful bouquets. It is unpretentious, resistant to pests and diseases, winters well in the ground. It is not difficult to organize proper care for him. It is not surprising that every year more and more gardeners are planting the varieties of autumn helenium they like on their plots in order to be able to admire the beauty of this plant until the frost for many seasons.
