Sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'
Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' · Asteraceae
Flowers streaked in orange, red and yellow, like marmalade, from June to October: the longest season of any helenium.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early October
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'
The planner designed this bed around sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' × 3, orange
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 4, red
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Mountain bluet × 3, blue
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only orange.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 15 weeks. From late June to early October.
- Fills a gap. For 9 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. For contrast, the bold leaves of Tatarian aster 'Jindai' sit beside the fine leaves of winter heath. It is planted in layers: about 10 in at the front, 18 in in the middle and 3½ ft at the back.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Found as a chance seedling by the Dutch seedsman Kees Sahin. If you grow one helenium, grow this. It is sterile, so it never stops trying to flower.
- The longest-flowering helenium
- Hot borders
- Pollinators from summer to autumn
What to plant with sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster': in flower together for 15 weeks, from late June; tall enough (5 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Tall verbena: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 15 weeks; tall enough (5 ft) to stand behind it.
- Bee balm: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for six weeks; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'
Does sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' need sun or shade?
Sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early July to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 6 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts are poisonous if eaten in quantity, especially to grazing animals, and the sap can irritate skin.
Is there a pet-safe plant like sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'?
These come closest to doing what sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not orange, wants average soil.
- Coneflower 'Cheyenne Spirit': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 10 in shorter, flowers late June to early September.
- Hyssop 'Blue Fortune': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; lavender, not orange, wants average soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'?
Sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' look like in winter?
Sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Helenium
- Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale
- Sneezeweed 'Mardi Gras' Helenium 'Mardi Gras'
- Sneezeweed 'Moerheim Beauty' Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to early October; daisies; orange, red, yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Asteraceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.