Helenium autumnale

Helenium’s numerous yellow flowerheads, with their exaggerated, spherical centers and neatly scalloped rays, possess a sweet, simple beauty that never fails to charm. Indeed, it seems that many pollinators also find the plant to be irresistible, including Ohio’s four native species of green metallic sweat bee. These iridescent green pollinators are a mesmerizing sight as they forage against the two-toned yellow backdrop of Helenium’s flowerheads. Blooming for 1-2 months during the late summer and autumn, the plant provides one of the last nutritional sources that the bees will access prior to retreating into underground burrows to sleep out the winter.

One of Helenium’s distinctive attributes which likely increases its attractiveness to bees is the simultaneous blooming of its flowerheads. A single plant can have as many as 100 flowerheads and their blooming has been likened to a color explosion. Helenium will attain a mature height of 3-5’ and will grow best under conditions of full to partial sunlight and wet to moderate soil moisture. Within its native NE Ohio range, the plant can be found in wet meadows, along stream and river banks, and in openings in wet woodlands.

References: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.

Photos by Ashley Keesling.