Helenium puberulum
| Helenium puberulum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 5' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Helenium puberulum (common name: rosilla)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.
If you have sufficient seed it would be worthwhile trying a sowing in situ outdoors in mid to late spring.
Cultivation: Grows well in ordinary garden soil[1][2], succeeding in most conditions other than boggy soils[3]. It prefers a fertile moisture retentive soil[4] in a sunny position[5][2]. Dislikes dry soil[4].
An annual or short-lived perennial, this species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[4].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[3].
A good bee and butterfly plant[6].
Range: South-western N. America.
Habitat: Moist meadows, marshes, slough banks etc, below 600 metres in California[7].
Edibility: Leaves and flowering heads - raw[8].
Medicinal: Antiscorbutic, tonic.
The dried powdered plant has been applied to wounds and has also been rubbed onto the forehead and nose in the treatment of colds[8]. It has been used as a snuff[8]. The plant has also been used in the treatment of venereal disease[8].
Pollinators: Bees, lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.