STAR OF THE MONTH

Inula magnifica ‘ Sonnenstrahl’

Sonnenstrahl means ‘sunbeam’ in German. It may be that when looking out of the window on a January day on the hunt for sunbeams, you are disappointed as everything is unremittingly grey. All I can say is that you must sit tight and before you know it there will be sunbeams dancing on every surface, the light will come flooding back, the days of sniffles and extra jumpers will be far behind us, and this plant will be covered in the cheeriest yellow flowers you could ever imagine. In the meantime, it makes, I am sure you will agree, a very handsome seedhead.

Happy in a bit of shade with good soil. Sow seed in a cold frame and divide in either spring or autumn. Height x Spread 2m x 75cm