Helenium

Value to bees

Nectar

High

Pollen

High

As a honey crop

Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus

Which bees, and why

Worked by honey bees, bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies and butterflies. The advancing ring of open florets means a single head is worth revisiting for a fortnight.

Small open florets on a raised dome with exposed nectar — accessible to the full range.

Worth knowing

Good for both over a long late-season window, from a flower shape that excludes nothing.

Flowering

In flower

July to October (northern hemisphere)

A long window from midsummer to the frosts, extendable by deadheading and by the old trick of cutting some stems back in May.

When nectar flows

Steady and freely accessible, with the domed centre opening in an advancing ring over weeks.

Year-to-year variation

Very dependable on soil that does not dry out.

Growing it

Conditions

Full sun, moist fertile soil. Unlike most prairie perennials it dislikes drought.

Size

80-150 cm.

Native range

North America, in damp meadows and prairie.

Suits

Small gardens, Large gardens, Meadow or wildflower area

• Cut a third of the stems back by half in late May — the classic Chelsea chop — and the plant flowers in two waves rather than one.
• Divide every two or three years; heleniums decline quickly if left congested.
• Leave the seed heads over winter for structure and for finches.

What it looks like

An upright clump with narrow leaves running down the stems, carrying daisy flowers with reflexed rust, orange or yellow petals around a prominent domed brown centre.