Helenium ‘Dakota Gold’

Bright and tidy ‘Dakota Gold’

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up this week with spring following right behind it, so we have a wee bit of green and gold for you in the spirit of the season. Our tidy new helenium sports lots of golden yellow daisies from midsummer to frost on neat mounds of fine, narrow foliage. It keeps its emerald green color all season long.  

‘Dakota Gold’ has a compact, spreading habit that fills a space efficiently. We use it as edging or in containers—when we need a pot o’ gold accent for a sunny patio or deck. It’s tough and fast-growing, standing up to summer heat and humidity while thriving in the cool weather of early fall as well.

Fine, narrow foliage stays emerald green all season

Massed in a group this native plant shines, brightening the border even when other landscape varieties start to fade. While remaining neat and tidy, it has a free and easy appearance that blends right in and helps to naturalize a design. Mature plants reach about a foot tall, with a spread of about two feet.

In front of tall millet and ‘Serena White’ it creates a graduated effect

We find that ‘Dakota Gold’ makes a nice complement to the slightly taller ‘Serena Lavender’ angelonia. ‘Serena Mix’ is another nice pairing for the gold, with ‘Black Pearl’ ornamental pepper for contrast. To create a graduated effect put tall, dark ‘Purple Majesty’ millet behind ‘Serena White’, with the gold sneezeweed in front. 

Butterflies and bees like to visit this plant, and when the brilliant blooms turn to dark brown seed heads the songbirds appear as well. Now, if only we had some dancers and a fiddle player!

‘Dakota Gold’ comes in the 1801 landscape size.