The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

I have an unfinished garden bed on the side of my home that is rarely ever visited by anyone other than myself and maybe some hungry deer. I have vowed to finish it and have a ton of paper scraps of rough sketches to prove it.

For now though, it serves as the minor league stadium for the plants that are “stored” there until they prove themselves worthy of a promotion to the “big leagues”. This bed gets slammed with heavy winds, pounded by afternoon sun and visited frequently by the critters. Like my boy Frank Sinatra would sing “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere.” or something like that. Throughout the spring and summer, I’ll move the survivors from this hidden bed to more prominent locations.

This past weekend, all of the Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed) were rewarded for their awesomeness and moved to the back bed surrounding my deck:

This was an easy decision as I officially gave up on all of my Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan). Their foliage looked awful by mid-summer, they re-seeded uncontrollably each year and truthfully, I was just bored with them.

So out with the old and in with the new … and more interesting:  

I’ve only had the sneezeweed plants for a little over a year, but they bloomed magically only after being in the ground for a few months:

The only problem I had was that they got too tall by August and began to flop. If you look closely in the photo below, you can see my poor attempt at trying to stake this plant:  

The flopping issue can be controlled by simply cutting the plants back now (mid June) so they reach a height closer to 3 feet rather than their maximum of 4 or 5 feet. I decided I would test this cutting back theory so I kept one as is when I transplanted it:  

And cut back another by about 12″:

I’ll be sure to monitor this situation as the season progresses and I’m crossing my fingers that the yellow leaves in the two photos above are simply transplant shock. Like a dope, I moved these in the middle of a hot and dry Summer day. 
Before I go, here are some quick facts about Helenium (sneezeweed):
  • Zone 3-8
  • Prefers full sun
  • Blooms late Summer into Fall
  • A US native found in moist soil along streams/ponds and in moist meadows
  • Reaches 3-5 feet tall with a spread of 2-3 feet
  • The origin of the name sneezeweed – dried leaves of this plant were used to make “snuff” which causes sneezing which in turn fights off evil spirits
  • The origin of the name Helenium – believed to refer to Helen of Troy and the fact that this plant would flower wherever her tears would hit the ground

Grats!

John            

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    15 Responses

    2. Love ’em, they have become one of my faves..especially the standby ‘Moerheim Beauty’. Here in PDX, they are probably a week away from blooming and will bloom until frost…quite a workhorse. I always forget to trim them until I start to see flower buds (like today) and inevitably end up staking them. Oh well…it’s a small price to pay for such beauty!

    5. I grow Heliopsis Lemon Queen which normally grow to about seven feet. I prune it down in May and it cuts its height by about two feet and adds to its width. This year, because it is on a narrow path, I have caged it, very invisible, so we’ll see if this works.

      Eileen

    6. You have a lovely garden. I am not the best gardener, but like to look at and be in nice gardens. By the way, today we have a company here to do ground work for a new a better garden around our house.
      Greetings.

    7. Interesting! I do the same thing. I have this whole ‘test garden’ area where things are planted until I… decide I like them… decide they can handle my abuse.. etc. I grow a lot of Sneezeweed, though. I surprised it does well in NJ. I always considered it a desert plant…

    8. Funny you should write about this wonderful plant. I have three in my garden and the thunderstorms this past week have knocked them down a good bit. I got out my kite string and a big stick and tied two of the plants up (a bit). I hate to cut it by half as they are so full of blooms right now…..hmmmmm, not sure. I have such a limited amount of blooms right now…clinging to all I have.

    12. I’ve just come in from cutting back my Sneezeweed! Quite a task. It’s the perfect perennial for us in Claryville, NY (sometimes zone 5…sometimes zone 4 Go figure??!!). We have heavy snow and herds of deer, etc. romping through here. Nothing likes to eat it, it attracts good bees, and always comes up. It comes up everywhere!! This is ok too, considering we have a rather “casual” design in the garden. I was just wondering if I had to cut this baby back each year, and found your blog. The stalks are getting very large – too big for scissors…just about too big for me to handle. I don’t mind the height, but I’m thinking that I’ll need to make some permanent sort of supports for it next year. Great site!!

    13. I love plants and flowers, but I want to have yellow flowers I don’t have any of them, thanks a lot because right now I’m gonna look for those beautiful flowers.

    14. I burn some of my prairie plots in the midwest, and I’ve read that sneezeweed is particularly sensitive to fire. Anyone have any experience with winter/early spring burning of areas with sneezeweed? Many thanks!

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