Growing Helipterum (Paper Daisy): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Helipterum, also called paper daisy or Australian everlasting, is an everlasting flower with a papery petal texture that holds its shape and color well whether used fresh or dried.
Sowing
Transplanting is recommended, sowing seed 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost. Direct-seeding after the last frost also works. Either way, press the seed into the soil surface or cover it lightly, since light aids germination. Germination takes 14 to 21 days at 65-75°F. Keep the soil moist until seedlings emerge, and thin to 6 to 8 inches apart.
Harvest before full bloom
Cut fresh or for drying before the flowers are fully open. Like a lot of everlastings, the blooms continue opening after the stem is cut, so an early harvest still finishes into a full-looking flower rather than looking unfinished.
Helipterum has no recorded companions or antagonists in our data. See the full companion guide for helipterum for how it’s tracked. At 4 plants per square foot, it’s a reliable addition to a dried-flower row in the Garden Designer, given well-drained, sandy-leaning soil.
Source: Helipterum (Paper Daisy): Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Helipterum (Paper Daisy) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Helipterum (Paper Daisy) tolerates either.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Helipterum (Paper Daisy) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-2 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Pierrot Red' helipterum: Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as a dramatic pink-and-black-bloomed selection for fresh or dried flowers, one of their standard named strains of the species. (source)
- 'Pierrot White' helipterum (best for: black-and-white color): Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as having a unique black-and-white color combination, a striking alternative to the pink-and-black Pierrot Red above. (source)
Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.
Where to buy helipterum seeds
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing helipterum (paper daisy)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Helipterum (Paper Daisy): An everlasting flower with a papery petal texture that holds up well fresh or dried, also called Australian everlasting.
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