How to grow healthy sneezeweed in 5 easy steps

With bright flowers that are easy to grow, sneezeweed is, well, nothing to sneeze at! If you want to add some bright colours to your yard with this flower, follow this advice.

Sneezeweed, like many domesticated flowers, have different variants that you can choose from. Here are just a couple:

• An old favourite is 'Moerheim Beauty,' which has a golden centre and bronze-red petals that age to burnt orange.
• 'Bruno' is bright red.
• 'Crimson Beauty' is mahogany red.
• 'Coppelia' is a dark bronze red.

• Grow sneezeweed in masses to enjoy the range of flower colours. Or contrast them with late-season, blue-flowered bloomers, such as Russian sage and anise hyssop.
• The daisy-like flowers of sneezeweed are carried generously on small-leaved, multi-branched stems, which make an especially full display.

• To look and flower their best, sneezeweed should be planted in spring or fall.
• Try to plant them in moist, well-drained soil.
• If the chosen spot tends toward dryness, incorporate some moisture-retaining compost into the soil before planting.
• Apply an eight-centimetre-thick layer of organic mulch to reduce evaporation, and water as needed to keep plants from wilting.
• These hungry plants also like soil amended with a generous amount of nutrient-rich compost.
• Sneezeweed prefers a recommended dose of balanced, controlled-release fertilizer each spring when new growth begins.

• Sneezeweeds can become lanky, especially in hot-summer regions.
• You can produce compact growth without inhibiting flowering by cutting them back to 30 centimetres in early summer.
• Sneezeweed often requires staking, usually because the branches aren't strong enough to hold up the blooms.
• Once the plants achieve their full height, install four to six slender stakes around the clump. Weave soft twine between the stakes and stems to give gentle support.
• While virtually pest free, sneezeweeds can develop a fungal, powdery mildew in late summer. Pinch off infected leaves, or cut badly infected plants to 30 centimetres to encourage new growth.

• To keep plants vigorous, divide them every other year.
• After the first freeze, apply a 15 centimetre layer of loose mulch, like straw or evergreen boughs.
• Remove the mulch in spring.

Sneezeweed is an easy way to add bright, vivid colours to your garden each and every year. There are plenty of colours to choose from, and every variant is easy to maintain throughout the season.