@Bright star, l am 99% certain it is "Butterpat", the label has long gone and it's been moved around a bit over the years ! @Valley Gardener, even though the sun was still up (it was around 7pm), once the it starts to go behind the trees at the back the light changes pretty quickly . If l'd left it much later, the flash would have triggered, and if I'd switched the flash off there wouldn't be much to see ! There is quite a bit of perfume but it was quite breezy yesterday so not as strong as it can be.
I don't think so, mine is just neutral, leaning towards clay. Theory is that they like moist soil, but they certainly don't get that here ! If l see them start to droop l give them a can or two of water. I stake them using those half hoop things. There's a bit more info here which is quite useful http://specialperennials.com/helenium/
@Bright star l like the look of "Mardi Gras" , is that quite low growing?
Love the Mardi Gras, @Bright star. @Valley Gardener I grow heleniums in very alkaline clay soil. I water them deeply twice a week, but they do dry out between waterings. They seem to cope fine, much better than I expected in my climate!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Thx AnniD, your butterpat flowers looked bigger than mine!😂. Mardi Gras is low growing, roughly 2ft. It is the best Helenium I have and quite vigorous. It’s been split so many times to give to my friends who all fall in love with it. I’ve got another low growing one called Double Trouble which looks very similar to Butterpat but has a double layer of petals.
Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.
@AnniD Lovely photos. Doesn't look as though you have any work to do. What is the plant between the white and yellow flowers in the third photo? Looks similar to one I have but much healthier. Probably not the same one. Lovely photos from all the other posters as well.
Thanks @Fran IOM. Don't be fooled, there's always something to do , but at this time of year it's mostly watering and deadheading, and deciding which plants to take cuttings from. The plant you're asking about is a Brachyglottis (they used to be called Senecio), it came from a cutting from one of my neighbours.
I don't envy you your snakes, @Pat E - we don't have anything unpleasant lurking in garden undergrowth in Britain, so close planting doesn't cause any problems. We do have adders which are venomous, but they don't live in gardens - they are shy, live in heathland and are sometimes seen basking in sandy places. Venomous but hardly ever fatal.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Posts
Mardi Gras
Butterpat ( I think, lost the label)
@Valley Gardener, even though the sun was still up (it was around 7pm), once the it starts to go behind the trees at the back the light changes pretty quickly . If l'd left it much later, the flash would have triggered, and if I'd switched the flash off there wouldn't be much to see ! There is quite a bit of perfume but it was quite breezy yesterday so not as strong as it can be.
There's a bit more info here which is quite useful
http://specialperennials.com/helenium/
@Bright star l like the look of "Mardi Gras" , is that quite low growing?
Lovely photos from all the other posters as well.
The plant you're asking about is a Brachyglottis (they used to be called Senecio), it came from a cutting from one of my neighbours.