Strawflower - Orange

HELICHRYSUM MONSTROSUM

Rusty, golden orange strawflower!

Strawflowers are the absolute workhorses of the cutting garden, flowering all season long, and then dried they will last for seemingly ever.

APPROX 50 SEEDS

GROWING

Strawflowers can be planted in Autumn to overwinter and flower earlier, while they can handle light to medium frosts they do resent wet feet and I personally lose a few plants throughout our wet winters, so if you'd like a better survival rate a mid-late Spring sowing might be best.

You can pinch out the centres at about 30cm, but the first un-pinched stem typically flowers larger & with more heads so don't pinch and just harvest that first stem quite deep.

Kept harvested/deadheaded they will flower all season long.

HARVEST

Strawflowers can be a little wimpy when harvested too early, I've found putting them in the chiller straight after harvesting helps with younger stems, but if in doubt leave them till they start opening up and their centres show.

If drying however it's best to harvest a little earlier, before their centres open as they will keep opening after they're cut.

Flowers do close up on cloudy days.