Christin, you really have some beauties. I picked up 'Ruby Tuesday' a couple of weeks ago, the only other one I've had is 'Moerheim Beauty' but that was some years ago.
No picture of my R.T., I've just deadheaded the spent flowers so it doesn't look like much right now but I'm looking forward to pictures of everyone else's.

I just had a quick look at the link you provided I had no idea there were so many different varieties. Another perennial we don't see much in the garden centers around here :(.

Annette

I have tried growing Heleniums several times in my 'hot' bed because the colour of the orangey-red ones are perfect there. None made it past their second summer, and most die after the first winter :-( Yours are beautiful and I'm wildly jealous! :-)

Again, there is another genus of plants I have none of and I think I will be one to admire yours from very afar! Keep those pictures coming CMK. (I especially like that 'zim').

H. Mardi Gras has been blooming for at least 6 weeks now without deadheading. I can't say enough good things about this plant.
{{gwi:267689}}From July 20, 2014 house

The pollinators seem to love it as much as I do, as it is usually abuzz with bees.
{{gwi:267690}}From July 20, 2014 house

This is the sole survivor of a severe vole attack out of 6 seed grown plants, and is just starting to bloom now. I think it's the one I liked the best of the 6, so I am glad it survived, but I think I will see if I am able to grow others from seed. It's about a foot taller than Mardi Gras.
{{gwi:267691}}From August 16, 2014

Last September I was delighted to see what I assume is the species growing along the Green River in Canyonlands National Park, UT.

christin, I planted Mardi Gras a couple of years ago in memory of my dearest friend, Helen, but I think I've let some monarda take over and reduce the vitality of Mardi. Thanks to your post, I will rectify that this afternoon.
Thank you!
Pat

I grew some helenium from seed a few years back and really enjoyed them, but they seemed to peter out on me. Can't remember the name... Autumn Buttons or something like that...?

Then last year I planted Dancing Flames in my garden and my friend's. Her are spectacular, 3 feet tall, gorgeous color, and a non-stop bloom machine! Mine? They've barely grown from the size they were when planted, and had a few nice but measly blooms. But I'm hoping next year they take off. I think my friend's soil is radioactive or something since everything we plant in it grows three times bigger than advertised, lol.

CMK, LOVE that Rubenszwerg! Wow! I definitely want to try more of these plants, but I'm a bit worried that they are not long-lived, after my experience so far. Do they reseed at all? Mine didn't seem to, but I've never had enough of them to really tell.

Dee

Autumn Shades was it? I have one of those newly planted from a native plants nursery. For me, slugs take the new growth out in the spring (or that's what happened this year in he spring).
They don't seem to be generally available here in my part of the country?

Re longevity of Dancing Flames ('Flammenspiel').

Like all the heleniums I've grown, it needs division (even separation of the new plantlets?) and replanting with upgraded soil every few years, at least in our growing conditions.

Without this, we get shorter and less floriferous plants, which over a few years just peter away.

They also don't do so well without either rain or attention to watering.

SB - if all that is the case, that's probably why they disappeared fast here - lousy soil, no division, no supplemental watering.... I expected a member of the aster/daisy family to be tough enough to fend for itself ! :-)

No, dbarron, I looked it up (way back from 2005!) and it was Autumn Lollipop. I could have sworn it had "Buttons" in the name - must be thinking of something else. I also tried Sunshine Hybrids from seed but I don't think those were as successful.

These heleniums might be a bit too much work for me - I never seem to get around to dividing stuff. But mine are in good soil, so that's a plus. I'll have to try to stay on top of these (she says yet again....)

:)
Dee

Woody, I know that you pay attention to whole garden designs, including shrubs and trees, as well as perennials.

I do think that, for some gardeners, helenium is a high maintenance perennial that can take too much time to maintain over years; at least if they have a lot of it.

I was always very pleased with the stand of Helenium autumnale below (in a garden I planted and maintained). However, I used to pull the stand to pieces, after it was cut back in fall and then replanted four or five dozen plantlets, every three years. Found four years was too long. Also upgraded the soil.

You read that heleniums are "heavy feeders" and maybe it works, using a fertilizer (as long as too much is not used).

The garden above had as sprinkler system that worked very well for the heleniums.

Have six foot 'Sonnenwunder' in our garden. I don't cut down heleniums in spring to get branching and blooming at a lower height. Over a couple of years the 'Sonnenwunder' regularly blooms at a lower height, reminding me to divide and replant it for next year.

Picture: August 31, 2009.

-Annette, RT looks awesome! Love to see pics of it in the future. Almost seems to have a more bluish-red tint to it.

-Doug, definitely give one a try someday! I couldn't imagine not having them in my garden now...

-nhbabs, I think 'Mardi Gras' is probably the most floriferous plant I grow. Like the seed grown one you have. I've been meaning to try growing some by seed in hopes of getting some oddballs.

-Dee, I've never found any naturally reseeding unfortunately.

-SunnyB, wonderful pictures & phenomenal color! This reminds me that I want a phlox behind the Mardi Gras in the backyard. Maybe one of those weirdoes like 'Natural Feelings'...
CMK

I certainly do like Heleniums but the problem for me in my Dutch garden is to keep them going for more than 1 year. Its not the cold but our wet winters and the slugs and snails in spring that are their biggest enemies.

This year I have "Moerheim Beauty" in my garden and it is doing really well. You can see it planted in front of the grey-blue leaves of Cynara cardunculus.

Same group of plants a couple of weeks later and picture taken from a different standpoint. The flower colour of "Moerheim Beauty" is now more orangy-yellow.

-GardenPrince, I am in awe. Your garden is absolute perfection- something I could dream of creating.

Is that a Sanguisorba in the background of 2nd pic?

I really like that MH Beauty. Good to know it turns orange later on...that is something I had wondered about.

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing and please share lots more with us in the future! ;-)
CMK

Thanks,
And very pretty pictures from everyone.

Interesting GP about the colour change in 'Moerheim Beauty'.

I had it in the past, but it only last three years.
Too late to check for colour change!

Haven't noticed colour change in our longer lived 'Rubinzwerg', 'Ruby Tuesday' or 'Red Jewel'.

Thanks for the compliments!

Yes that is Sanguisorba "Pink Brushes" in the second picture.

Here is a close-up of the flowers.

This is my second year growing Helenium "Salsa":

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(Rudbeckia "Viette's Little Suzy" is in the background)

The only other Helenium I grow is a seed mix ("Helena"), which turned out to be all yellow. I'll be trying other kinds.

SunnyBorders, thanks for the tip on dividng every 3 years. I bought 2 Mardi Gras last year and I really like them. Next year I want to add "Moerheim Beauty".

Interesting that many of the photos show the heleniums in full bloomr are just starting to bloom. My Mardi Gras is almost done and just has seedheads. Wonder why.

Almost missed this post, awesome pictures and I hope it keeps going!
I have one helenium which has suffered along in a dry spot and does not look happy at all. Love them in other gardens and maybe I need to give mine a little first aid next year.

Thought I'd lost this one two years ago, but have moved it to a location where I can keep a closer eye on it.

One of my favourites, 'Feuersiegel', yesterday.

And then there's the Helenium autumnale cultivars that, with some Rudbeckia, are such a great colour bridge here between the summer garden phlox and fall asters and monkshood.

Yesterday.

So glad to see some conversation about Heleniums. I've had Mardi Gras for six or seven years now and it's a blooming machine! I really really like it.

I've wanted to add a few more varieties this year, but I don't see them in my local nurseries. Can anyone recommend some mail order sources?

Forest Farms has a nice selection. I ordered 3 this spring and will be ordering more (if not all they carry) next year.

Kevin

I had Ruby Tuesday, and talk about an underperformer! Ripped those out after watching a piddly display last year. Replaced them with Red Jewel and I'm loving those. Here's a couple pics:
{{gwi:267693}}
{{gwi:267694}}

Not bad for their first year!

When I was doing my annual august perennial prowl at a favorite nursery a couple of days ago 'Hot Lava' and 'Double Trouble' found their way into my cart along with several other things :). My pot getto is bursting at the seams just waiting until the beds are ready. Hopefully they'll all be planted and settled in before winter arrives, a nice long indian summer would fit the bill quite nicely.

Annette

Update to photo I posted two weeks ago of Helenium "Salsa", showing mellowing of color to terra-cotta shade:

{{gwi:267695}}

-fun, that is too bad RT wasn't a good performer for you. That RJ is SUPERB though! Love how the eye of the Coreopsis compliments it.

-Eric, that pic should be in a nursery catalog. I would totally buy 'Salsa' based on that pic!
CMK

'Double Trouble' latest addition to my pot ghetto.
Annette

"that pic should be in a nursery catalog."

Based on the ethics of nursery site webmasters, it's not unlikely...

Lol Eric, I resent that....the site I maintain has only my or the owners photos (lol)...doesn't hurt that I'm a semi-pro photographer either.
But I agree that's a lovely photo....only thing that could be better would be the wooden fence quite a bit more out of focus.

'Flammenspiel'.

I am loving this thread! Such pretty photos!

And I am ever so envious of those of you who have so many of those that I'd like to acquire. But I can't find them anywhere for sale. Forest Farm doesn't have any I want, Digging Dog is out of two that I do want, Bluestone has become ridiculously expensive and only has one listed I want anyway......

Hopefully there will be more sources next spring

'Rotgold', today:

I planted my short and sassy in August in full sun and it has no orange or red color. Any thoughts?

Sorry, no helpful information (only one plant).

Planted one Helenium 'Short and Sassy' in September 2014. No trace of it this year. I also planted three 'Fuego' at the same time and they've put on a good show this year. Am surprised to see the 'Fuego' still looking attractive.

I have always wondered at the persistence in growing those sniffy echinaceas when there are so many better orange daisies available. I love heleniums - they are easy plants to grow, divide neatly and persist for a long time as well as being responsive to deadheading. And just to add to the orange, I like to throw in a few tithonias as well - look especially good with bronze carex , uncinia rubra and nasella tenuissima .

I lost many of mine when I took over the woodland because I abandoned the late summer borders at the allotment (the couch grass did for them) but will be amassing a collection to extend summer colour in the woodland edges.

I love Helenium too. As said before, I would say Helenium (at least in my experience) is a relatively high maintenance perennial (division, upgrading soil, watering). For instance, found the stand of the species Helenium autumnale below (August 6, 2010) needed division and replanting every three or four years to keep it up at the same height. That location was within the range of sprinklers.

I love Helniums too. Interesting SB. I have found Moerheim Beauty long lived with no maintenance other than deadheading. It blooms all summer long and has been in the same spot for nearly 10 yrs. The height and flowering is consistent every year.

I will reserve judgement of Sahine's Early Flowerer and Loydster Wieck since I have only had these growing for 2 and 4 yrs. respectively, but so far so good.

Oooh catkin I really like that one!

Surprising, perenn.all, especially re the bloom time.

Helenium is described here, at least, as a late-season perennial; late summer/early fall and maybe mid fall. That's been my experience in various gardens. Little 'The Bishop' does fit information in the literature (that it starts flowering a bit earlier than most other Helenium cultivars - in my experience, about two weeks before).

My experience, as said, is that Helenium cultivars don't tend to last very many years without due attention, the single most important thing being watering. Location can obviously be a big factor in this regard. 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' has been noted as a Helenium cultivar which is more tolerant of dryness.

'Moerheim Beauty' (2 plants) only lasted about four years for me. That was in mixed perennial beds, albeit watered ones.

Our Sahin's Early Flowerer (2 plants) has already lasted four years and is still going strong in mixed perennial beds. I don't find Sahin's Early Flowerer as long flowering as it was for Sahin who selected it in Holland (one comment: flowering beginning in June and "still going" on November 1). I'd say it does start to bloom, here, up to two weeks before most Helenium (which start blooming about mid-August).

"Still going" might be a telling term. We could have some very largely spent Helenium with obvious dead bits and few flowers (and often some mildew) still present in our garden near the end of September, but they're cut down before then. The single exception: this year, 'Fuego' (2 plants - had them 2 years), which stared blooming in mid-August, is even now (September 27) still putting on a very reasonable show.

Don't know the other Helenium.

There should be more discussion on this site about how long which perennials should be expected to live (with proper care).