Gelenium - golden curls of beautiful Elena

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There is an assumption that a sunny flower, pleasing us with bloom on the eve of autumn, Helenium (helenium) is named after the beautiful Helen, wife Menelaus, who was kidnapped by Paris and became an involuntary cause of the long Trojan War. Perhaps the warm golden tone of the flowers resembled the color of the magnificent curls of a mythical beauty.

Description of Gelenium

Helenium, Latin - Helenium.

The birthplace of gelenium is North and Central America. More than 30 species are known. Annual or perennial rhizome, herbaceous plants. Geleniums do not have perennial rhizomes. Flower-bearing stems die off in winter along with the roots. But the buds formed on the underground part of the annual stem, by this time form a rosette of leaves with roots.

This rosette is the next year and gives the flower stalk. That is, geleniums do not have a bush in the generally accepted sense, but there are closely sitting independent plants. The stems are straight, branched at the top, up to 160 cm tall. Leaves are arranged in the following order, lanceolate. Inflorescences - baskets, solitary or collected in corymbose inflorescences. Marginal flowers reed, yellow, orange, purple, brown or two-tone; central - tubular, yellow or brown. Achenes oblong-cylindrical, slightly pubescent.

Features of Gelenium

Location: Geleniums are photophilous, but tolerate partial shade.

The soil: prefer fertile, well-treated and well-moistened neutral soils.

Care for Gelenium

When placing geleniums in the garden, remember where and how they live in nature: moist, fertile meadow soils, dense forbs.

They will feel great in flower beds with a tight fit. Low-growing varieties can be planted in the foreground or in curbs, tall-in the background. The majestic bushes look beautiful as tapeworms on the background of the lawn. In this case, they need regular watering, as they do not tolerate overdrying of the soil.

Do not forget about watering in the dry and hot summers. Geleniums respond well to mineral and organic top dressing, which is enough to spend two to three times per season. After three or four years, you need to think about a transplant - the bushes grow old quickly. It is undesirable to carry it out in autumn. If you still purchased blooming gelenium at the end of the season, cut the stem to a height of 10-12 cm before planting and try to injure the root system as little as possible.

Those who grew geleniums know that for all their unpretentiousness, an adult and quite healthy bush in the conditions of the Moscow Region may suddenly not overwinter, although the plant is recommended for the fourth climatic zone. This is due to the peculiarities of its structure.

The bush of autumn gelenium can only conditionally be called a bush. Strictly speaking, this is a colony of independent plants. Flowering stems, like many perennials, live only one season. But, unlike them, at the end of the season, not only the stem but also the root neck dies off at gelenium, and the buds of renewal at the base of the stem often form small rosettes by this time. They are independent plants with their own completely autonomous root system.

If winter is snowy or without severe frosts, young plants winter well, and freeze in frosty and snowless ones. This circumstance is exacerbated when we are dealing with varieties that were created using other types of geleniums, in particular, the more heat-loving Bigelow gelenium.

In preparation for winter, mulch the plant with moss or sawdust and cover with lutrasil. For better wintering, crop and mulch adult plants.

Propagation of Gelenium

Gelenium is propagated by dividing the bush and seeds, which are sown in the fall or spring in the ground or in boxes. Seeds germinate in the light for 14-20 days at +18 .. + 22 ° C. Seedlings dive in the phase of two or three true leaves, landing in the ground is carried out in early June, maintaining a distance of 30-35 cm.

Young plants bloom next year. Autumn and hybrid Gelenium is best divided in May. Gelenium is easily divided; when digging, the plant breaks up into separate rosettes with roots. The distance between plants is 80-100 cm.

Use of Gelenium

Gelenium is planted in the background of large flower beds, near decorative shrubs, in groups or singly, near fences, buildings, which it is desirable to decorate with plants. Gelenium goes well with autumn-flowering perennial asters. Inflorescences in autumn bouquets are very good; they are cut off completely dissolved, since they do not open in water.

Varieties and types of gelenium

Helenium autumnale (Helenium autumnale)

Autumn Helenium (Helenium autumnale) has been known in culture since the 17th century. The main advantage of this species is late and very plentiful flowering. Bushes of autumn gelenium have a columnar shape. Strong, woody, leafy stems along the entire height rise to a height of 2 m and branch strongly in its upper part. Each branched shoot ends with a golden flower - a basket up to 6 cm in diameter. As a result, up to several hundred flowers bloom on each stem. Autumn gelenium blooms in August, during the month. Seeds ripen by October.

Currently, there are a number of varieties that can be successfully used in landscaping.

Varieties with yellow coloring of regional flowers

Magnificum - undersized variety, up to 80 cm tall, baskets up to 6 cm in diameter, the middle of the flower is yellow; blooms in July-August.

Gartenzonne - plant height up to 110 cm, baskets with a diameter of 5-6 cm, the middle of the flower is brown; blooms from the end of July.

Katarina - plant height 140 cm, baskets with a diameter of 4-5 cm, the middle of the flower is brown; blooms from mid-August.

"Moerheim Beauty" - plant height 180 cm, a basket with a diameter of 6 cm, the middle of the flower is yellow-brown; blooms from mid-August.

Super Boom - height 180 cm, baskets with a diameter of 6 cm, the middle of the flower is yellow; blooms in August.

Septemberzonne - height 160 cm, baskets with a diameter of 6 cm, middle yellow-brown; blooms in the second half of August.

Varieties with yellow coloring of regional flowers with red strokes

Altgold - plant height 90 cm, baskets with a diameter of 6 cm, the reverse side of the marginal flowers with red strokes, the middle of the flower is brown; blooms in the second half of August.

Altgoldree- plant height 110 cm, baskets with a diameter of 4 cm, the reverse side of the marginal flowers with red strokes, the middle is dark brown; blooms in the second half of August.

Goldfux - plant height 140 cm, a basket with a diameter of up to 6 cm, the reverse side of the marginal flowers is red, the middle is yellow-brown; blooms from mid-August.

Varieties with red flowers

Dee Blonde - plant height 170 cm, dense bush, baskets with a diameter of 6.5 cm, marginal flowers are red-brown, the middle of the flowers is brown, blooms from late August.

Glutauge - plant height 90 cm, baskets with a diameter of 6 cm, the middle of the flowers is reddish-brown, blooms from mid-August.

The natural distribution of gelenium is moist, swampy areas. Its root system is superficial, poorly developed. In the culture, varieties of autumn helenium are grown in well-lit areas on garden soils with sufficient watering and with obligatory garter of plants to stakes.

Having a high growth rate, the bushes in the third year form up to 30 stems and more and quickly grow old. Therefore, transplanting and dividing the bush is recommended for the third or fourth year. The best time for transplanting is early spring, the beginning of regrowth. Dug up plants easily break up into separate sockets, which are planted one or two in a permanent place.

Gelenium Hoop (Helenium hoopesii)

Helenium Hoops (Helenium hoopesii) - Rocky rop plant. It has a powerful rhizome, large lanceolate basal leaves and strong stems, strongly branched in the upper part, up to 80 cm high. Flower baskets are large (10 cm in diameter), orange, collected in large (25-30 cm in diameter) umbellate inflorescences. Heppenium blooms in June-July for 35-40 days, bears fruit. It propagates in the same way as autumn gelenium. A bush transplant is possible both in spring and in August.

Hybrid Helenium - Helenium x hybridum

This includes most garden hybrids of unknown origin, however, the main source species, as a rule, is autumn gelenium. Varieties vary in height, size, shape and color of inflorescences, timing and duration of flowering.

For example:

Gartenzonne (Gartcnsonnе) - A plant up to 130 cm tall. Inflorescences up to 3.5 cm in diameter. Reed flowers are reddish-yellow, tubular - yellow-brown. It blooms from July.

Goldlaktsverg (Goldlackzwer) - A plant up to 100 cm tall. Inflorescences are 3.5-4.5 cm in diameter. Reed flowers are brown-orange with yellow tips, tubular - brown-yellow. It blooms from July.

Rothgout (Rothaut) - A plant up to 120 cm tall. Inflorescences are about 4.5 cm in diameter. Reed flowers are red-brown, tubular - yellow-brown. It blooms from July.

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