Helenium autumnale

common sneezeweed

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Characteristics

Descriptions

Also known as:

Helen's flower

Light Requirements

sun, part-sun

Soil Moisture

moist, wet

Soil Description

rich, average, loam, clay, sand

Height

3'-5'

Bloom Time

August, September, October

Bloom Color

yellow

Hardiness Zone

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

More Filters

deer resistant, fall interest, colonizing, pollinator favorite, pond margin plant, stream margin plant

Description

Helenium autumnale, as inferred by its specific epithet, is a fall-blooming perennial. It is a profuse bloomer that provides a late season burst of yellow, beginning in August and extending for 2 months, possibly even until first frost. The yellow, daisy-like flowers are large, up to 2" across, and have a couple of distinguishing features: the central disk florets form a dense, nearly perfect globe, and the doubly-notched rays impart a fringe-like texture. Plants have an erect, branching form, and can reach a height of 5' when in bloom. The leaves are alternate, oblong, up to 5" long and 1 1/2" wide, and either sessile or clasping.

Cultivation

Common sneezeweed is a moisture loving species. It prefers moist to wet soil, and full to part-sun. The root system is shallow and fibrous, which makes the plant sensitive to extended dry spells. If grown in a garden setting, it is best suited for being planted at the bottom of a slope or in a depression that will ensure consistent moisture. In naturalized settings, it is ideal for moist meadows and on the margins of streams and ponds. Cutting the plants back in early summer will encourage a denser form, and dead-heading will extend the blooming period. This is a well-behaved species that does not spread aggressively. It is highly resistant to pressure from herbivores, including deer and rabbits. For a color contrast, it can be combined with Symphyotrichum novi-belgii (among other asters). Other companion plants include Eutrochium dubium and Deschampsia cespitosa. Zones 3-9

Additional Notes

The genus, Helenium, is a reference to Helen of Troy. This is somewhat odd considering that all species within the genus are native exclusively to the Americas. The specific epithet, autumnale, is a reference to the species fall blooming period. The common name, sneezeweed, is problematic; the flowers' pollen is heavy and sticky. It can only be distributed by insects, cannot be carried by the wind, and will not trigger allergic reactions. The roots of this common name can be traced back to certain native American tribes who ground up the dried leaves and flowers to satisfy early settlers' penchant for snuff. We would prefer that the common name, Helen's flower, be more broadly used.

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Pricing & Availability

Would you like your plants shipped later? You may choose to do so in the shopping cart.

Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.

Did you know? When plants are available from multiple growers, we list growers closest to your location first.

Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!

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Pricing & Availability

Grouped product items
Pricing & Availability
Individual Plants
Ironweed Nursery , KY
Available: 3.5" Pot $13.95	70 available
Minimum order of 8. --- To reach this minimum you may MIX & MATCH across any species, sold by Ironweed Nursery. --------------------------------	Please specify the quantity of products.


Full Flats
Midwest Groundcovers , IL
Available: 38-count deep plugs, full flat (38 plugs) NEW $157.70 $3.57 per plant - Sold in full flats only	7 available
See all plants sold by Midwest Groundcovers. --------------------------------	Please specify the quantity of products.

3.5" Pot

3.5" pot

Size
3.5” x 3.5” across by 3.5” deep. This size is also referred to as a pint. Shape, height to width ratios, and volume vary within the nursery trade.

Recommended uses
Pints are landscape-ready, and can also be used as starter plants for quart and gallon containers.

Pros
Similar in volume to the larger plug sizes, they can be purchased individually. Plants are still at a vigorous stage of growth and establish quickly in the landscape. Ideal for plants with shallow, and/or fibrous root systems.

Cons
Not recommended for plants with deep taproots.

38-Count Deep Plugs

38-count plugs

Size
2 ¼ ” x 2 ¼ ” across by 5” deep. They are referred to as deep 38s or DP38s.

Recommended Uses
38s are landscape-ready plugs and can be planted as they are. They are the same width as our 32s, but allow for an additional inch of root depth. They can also be used as starter plants to be finished in gallon-size containers or larger.

Pros
They hit the sweet spot by combining the benefits of young plants with deep root systems and the lower cost of 38 plugs per flat. The plants are still at a vigorous stage of growth and establish quickly in the landscape. Due to their large size they require less TLC once planted than the smaller plug sizes. They are ideal for new installations as well as filling gaps in established plantings.

Cons
We haven’t really found any downsides to using 38s. However, to install them we recommend purchasing a good soil knife, or a drill auger for large installations.

Maps, Wetland Status & More

MAP OF NATIVE RANGE

Recorded County Distribution: USDA data.

More Information

Native To

More Information
AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, LA, MT, NM, NV, OR, TX, UT, WA, WY

Legal Status

Wetland Status

Arid West	FACW
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain	FACW
Eastern Mountains and Piedmont	FACW
Great Plains	FACW
Midwest	FACW
Northcentral and Northeast	FACW
Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast	FACW

MAP OF WETLAND DELINEATION REGIONS

Wetland Status regions

Northcentral and Northeast

Eastern Mountains and Piedmont

Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain

Midwest

Great Plains

Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast

Arid West

Interpreting Wetland Status

Code	Status	Designation	Comment
OBL	Obligate Wetland	Hydrophyte	Almost always occur in wetlands
FACW	Facultative Wetland	Hydrophyte	Usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands
FAC	Facultative	Hydrophyte	Occur in wetlands and non-wetlands
FACU	Facultative Upland	Nonhydrophyte	Usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands
UPL	Obligate Upland	Nonhydrophyte	Almost never occur in wetlands

Classification

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta	Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons
Subclass	Asteridae
Order	Asterales
Family	Asteraceae	Aster family
Genus	Helenium	sneezeweed
Species	Helenium autumnale	common sneezeweed

ADDITIONAL COMMON NAMES:

Helen's flower, dogtooth daisy, autumn sneezeweed, fall sneezeweed

Plant Sizes

Sizes Sizes

Sizes info

Shipping & Planting

SHIPPING INFO:

Shipping is free on all plants orders!

Your plants will ship using each grower’s preferred method: FedEx Ground, UPS Ground, or Spee-Dee Ground (in select midwestern states). Our growers ship orders Monday through Wednesday. The farther your plants need to travel, the earlier in the week they will ship. The goal is to have all plants delivered by the end of the week.

Shipping plugs:

Plugs are shipped in full flats, sometimes also referred to as trays. Multiple flats can be shipped in a single box. The flats are wrapped in netting or craft paper to secure the plants, and spacers are used between flats to keep the plants from being crushed.

When you unpack your plugs, the plants will have been somewhat flattened by the netting or craft paper. They will straighten out within a couple of days. You may also gently “fluff” them a bit to speed up the process. In some cases, your plants might have been cut back before packing, if the grower deemed them to have become too tall for safe packaging. Don’t worry, though, these guys know what they’re doing and would not compromise the health of the plants. They’ll fill back in in no time.

After receiving your plants’ journey in a dark box, it will be important to acclimate them to sunlight again. Over a couple of days, you should gradually move them into their preferred light exposure, and water them as per their requirement.

Although we always recommend putting your plants in the ground as soon as possible, they can stay healthy in the flats for a considerable amount of time. The key is to respect their growing requirements: if the species requires full sun, do not store them in the shade. If it is best adapted to dry soil, do not over-water.

PLANTING INFO:

Planting plugs:

We consider plugs ready to ship when the plants’ roots have filled the entire liner cell and the plants can easily be pulled out. In some cases you will have to go about it gently, wiggling the plant by the crown, and possibly squeezing the bottom of the liner to compress the growing medium and release the roots. Other times, the plants will appear to be root bound. They are not in the traditional sense. The plants are healthy but they have used up all the growing medium available to them. Plugs are at an aggressive stage of growth. As soon as planted the roots will immediately expand into your native soil. They establish faster than plants in larger containers, because they don’t have the luxury of a lot of growing media that can inhibit the roots from venturing outside of their comfort zone.

We are not going to address area preparation because the process can be complex and is always site-specific. However, as a rule, we recommend disturbing the soil as little as possible, and we do not recommend amending the soil. If you chose the right plant for the right conditions they will thrive. Any disturbance and amendments will only encourage weeds to emerge that never had a chance to do so before.

Installing plugs cannot be easier: dig a hole large enough for the roots to fit snugly inside, then water them in to eliminate air gaps. We recommend using a soil knife, sometimes referred to as hori hori, or a drill-adapted auger if it’s a large installation. If you use an auger, you will need a powerful drill. Depending on the size of the project and the type of soil, the process can be beyond what an average drill will bear. Mulching is recommended after installation to help keep weeds down while the plants establish. Be sure to keep it away from the crown of the plants. For large projects, you may want to mulch the area before planting, rather than tiptoeing through it after the fact. As a side note: if you are installing plugs in the fall, you might want to plant them so that the crown is about ¾” lower than the surrounding soil. The winter’s freeze/thaw cycles can push plugs out if the roots did not have enough time to establish and anchor them in.

Helenium autumnale

common sneezeweed

Characteristics