This will be the fifth year for Helix in the gardens, it's quite hardy in my cold climate - free of pests and rust, easy care. In fact, it had multiplied so that last year, I had to move it for more space.
I do get the full height ... perhaps even a bit more, closer to 3-feet, as the blooms tower above the foliage. There is always a good bud count and the scapes do branch well, so the blooms ... despite their 9-inch stretch... do not tangle on each other, but rather seem to hang together companionably.
On quick glance, one might think this one similar to Open Hearth or Ruby Spider (both of which I have in the gardens, and Open Hearth being the pollen parent of Ruby Spider)... and all three spanning the 9-inch size, with only Open Hearth being at least a half-foot shorter. But those both open wider / appear somewhat flatter ... more sunflower-like, as though opening their petals and sepals in a wide-armed hug of the sun.
Helix is a deeper tone of red, with sepals that recurve back and down while the petals reach up and forward before their tips also curl under. The colours are richer, deeper hues and seem to stand somehow taller... a salute, rather than a hug. I could never part with this daylily from my garden!
