I have Rubinzwerg and Double Trouble. I like both. Double Trouble has small blooms though. I have another one called 'Tiny Dancer' that is nice too. These have all been great and bloom a long time.

I want Dancing Flames and Red Jewel. I'd definitely get those if I saw them!

I also LOVE 'Mardi Gras'- it is one of the most floriferous plants I grow as a matter of fact.

Got 'Rubinzwerg' a couple years ago. It's in a bit too much shade, so hasn't done much yet. Think it may need to be in more sun for the flowers to "pop" anyway...

I've had 'Coppelia' several years now (5? 6? your guess is as good as mine, LOL). Have to say I have become less than impressed with this one. The flowers are nice, but the plant hasn't bulked up much. Not sure if everyone has had the same experience with it or not. Anyhoo, if I had known I would have gone with one more vigorous!

Darn! Now you have me wanting to try out more Helenium now ;-D I have been wanting Helenium 'Tie Dye' sooooo bad since seeing it a couple months ago online!!
CMK

I have Mardi Gras too. I think its's my favorite!

It appears 'Tiny Dancer' is a cultivar of Helenium flexuosum, so I wonder if there are major differences between the two?

I really have to stop looking for these and make the most of what Forest Farms has to offer as long as I'm placing an order with them anyway. I really hate paying shipping charges on 1 or 2 plants from a whole bunch of nurseries. But I must say, after last seasons success with 'Mardi Gras', I'm really excited about trying as many new varieties of Helenium as possible.

Kevin

Tiny Dancer is a compact version of flexuosum. It is the shortest Helenium I have.

Plants Nouveau has a new series of compact varieties called Mariachi in several colors. Be on the look out for these too. Check out one at the link below. You can look at the rest on their site too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mariachi Heleniums

Those are beautiful, but what's this statement all about:

"These plants come from the lab POTY virus free, so please replace your stock each year."

"replace your stock each year"? That isn't a very good selling point. Is there a problem in the helenium world too? A new virus or something?

Kevin

Anyone had good experiences with growing Helenium hybrids from seed?

I was unimpressed with the Red/Gold hybrids, and the offspring from the Helena mix I grew last year have so far bloomed yellow (I am hoping another color will emerge this season - if not, they have a date with the shovel).

I only tried these from seed once - a mix from T&M. Of the ones that germinated, I probably planted out something like a dozen plants because that's all the room I had. They all bloomed yellow and not even variations of yellow - just all the same yellow.

Maybe if you have tons of room to plant dozens and dozens of seedlings in the hopes of getting something good it might be worth the effort, but I don't have that kind of room.

Kevin

-Eric, link below is a thread I found here where someone suggests 'Red Shades' has a few seedlings close to the original. Sorry, don't know any others...

You never know unless you try! MOBOT says 'Mardi Gras' was a chance seedling between two(?) unknown cultivars.
CMK

Here is a link that might be useful: Helenium seedlings...

I have Double Trouble and like it. I also have two other un-named seedlings from a seed pkt from T & M many years ago. I only stated a bout a half dozen, kept two for myself. One is a tall 4 1/2 to 5 ft yellow, the other is a reddish with yellow tipped petals. I can't complain for the years of blooms they've given me.

I see this new introduction called Tie Dye.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tie Dye Helenium

I am going to get the new intro Ruby Tuesday this year. The perfect color to compliment my shutters! :) The reviews on this one are really good and they say 150 blooms a season. I'll take that any day! Looking forward to trying it out.