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Heliopsis helianthoides - Does anyone grow?
Victoria Sponge
Posts: 3,502
in Plants
Hello,
I'm looking for something tall and perennial to pad out a harvest colours border, (red, yellow, orange) and I think I have never tried the above.
If you grow them, do they have any weaknesses/preferences that you are aware of? Are they reliably perennial and hardy? Are snails likely to eat them? I thought the leaves looked fairly robust in photos but can't be sure.
Border is improved clay but still heavy, dries out in summer but not boggy in winter. Sun from south west/west.
I'm looking for something tall and perennial to pad out a harvest colours border, (red, yellow, orange) and I think I have never tried the above.
If you grow them, do they have any weaknesses/preferences that you are aware of? Are they reliably perennial and hardy? Are snails likely to eat them? I thought the leaves looked fairly robust in photos but can't be sure.
Border is improved clay but still heavy, dries out in summer but not boggy in winter. Sun from south west/west.
Wearside, England.
0
Posts
They've done well and I love 'em.
They're mixed in with some Stipa Gigantea and other plants that have arrived on the wind like toadflax, feverfew, foxgloves and the daisies.
Slugs in early spring do love them though and I have lost a couple due to them being continually munched, but the 5-6 clumps I have of them are quite large now, so I can split them as necessary. They do self-seed a little, so I can sometimes fine a seedling to pot up and bring on.
The dark stems and dark leaves (early in the season) look good too. The leaves eventually turn green .
Sometimes I Chelsea chop them which helps keep the height down a bit, other times I don't and some will flop (they get to about 6ft), but they give a great display throughout summer until late October.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
It's just an area I can't decide what to do with, so I planted the Stipa, then the heliopsis then pretty much left it to get on with it.
There was a massive eucalyptus there previously where nothing could grow.
The ground there is stone-hard orangey clay that has never been improved, and the heliposis did suffer badly in the heatwave/drought (I didn't water them) and several appeared to be dead. But soon as the rain turned up they resprouted and flowered profusely.
I just had 4000L manure delivered, so will be spreading some of that around the area sometime before spring as I think it deserves it.
But I thoroughly recommend the heliopsis.
I did previously plant helenium there, but the slugs/snails decimated them to death. The heliopsis must be tougher.
They were easy from seed, but a good idea to keep small plants potted until they look robust enough.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I had a voucher code from Bean Nursery which I have used once before so I ordered Bleeding Hearts and Burning Hearts and will see how they get on.
I did buy Fire Twister for her as a gift, amazingly found just one pot half price it was fine just needed more water. She has hundreds of plants but didn't have that one so I was pleased .I do know people were talking about it at the flower shows in 2019 but I couldn't find it at the time. It has plant breeders rights on it so that might limit the stock.