Inula racemosa Sonnenspeer - Indian elecampane

'Sonnenspeer' Inula racemosa, also known as Elecampane, is another giant perennial, highly ornamental in two ways. Firstly, with its abundant foliage, slightly fleshy and sculptural, and secondly, with its late summer flowering in large ruffled daisies, golden yellow with a more orange central disk. This plant is unfairly unknown, yet it is ideal in a wild garden behind large flower beds where it will be a true highlight. It is easy to cultivate in deep and moist soil, in full sun.

'Sonnenspeer' Inula racemosa belongs to the Asteraceae family, it is a very floriferous cultivar derived from Inula racemosa, native to the mountains of western Himalayas and common in Kashmir. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with a basal rosette, from which solid and leafy stems emerge in summer, adorned with racemes of ligulate golden yellow flowers, 4 to 6cm (2in) in diameter, arranged from top to bottom of the floral stem. In spring, its foliage forms a fountain-like shape, elongated, lanceolate, with sometimes reaching 50cm (20in) in length. The leaves are rough, undulate on the edge, with a slightly glaucous green colour, reminiscent of banana plant leaves. The cauline leaves become smaller as they ascend towards the top of the floral stem, covered with a thick felt on the underside. It is also a medicinal plant, with its roots widely used locally as an expectorant and in veterinary medicine as a tonic.

'Sonnenspeer' Elecampane is perfect in the background of flower beds, or to colonise a moist slope or the banks of a water feature. Its tall floral stems are sturdy enough not to bend in the wind. It is well-suited for a large garden, mixed with other giant plants such as Olympic Mullein, Narrow-Leafed Ligularia, Cardoon, Tall Verbena, Milky Bellflower... for a picturesque effect, or in a large rockery. In our garden, it has a great impact when combined with banana plants and Giant Coneflower.