Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock, bitter sneezeweed, yellowdicks

HEAM
Native Status: L48 N

Sowing: February to June or September to October
This variety will flower the same year from an early sowing giving a spectacular, late summer display. Sow on the surface of a good free draining, damp seed compost. Cover with a very fine sprinkling of compost. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 14 to 21 days at 13 to 15°C (55 to 59°F). The compost should be kept slightly moist, but not wet at all times. Do not exclude light at any stage, as this helps germination.
Prick out each seedling as it becomes large enough to handle, transplant into 7.5cm (3in) pots. Grow on in cool, well lit conditions. Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions before planting out 30cm (12in) apart. Later sowings can be overwintered in a coldframe and planted out the following spring.

20160625 collected sample off Fairgrounds Rd in Pittsboro (near the dump)

Produces a riot of multicolored blooms for six to eight weeks in summer, from late June to early August. Yellow petals, lavishly splashed with orange red, form wildly patterned stiff skirts around deep brown, mounded center cones. The "tie-dyed" flowers are 1.5 to 2 inches (3-5 cm) in diameter. Forms upright clumps with sturdy stems that sway gracefully in summer breezes. A massed planting will form tight shrubby bushes of impressive size in two years. Comes to Rozanne and Friends™ from Bob Brown, Cotswold Garden Flowers, England.

Awards: Calgary Horticultural Society 2012 Perennial plant of the year (Alberta Canada)
Uses: Back border, Specimen
Attributes: Cut flower, Long blooming, Attracts butterflies, Deer resistant
Height 36"-40"/91-102cm, Spread 25"/63cm