Sunflower
Helianthus species. ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE).
Planting and Growing Sunflower
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow sunflower in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of sunflower
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for sunflower
- Season of bloom and planting time for sunflower
- When, how deep, and where to plant sunflower
- How to plant sunflower
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of sunflower
- Landscape and container uses of sunflower
- Comments about sunflower and its features
Growing Sunflower
About 150 species of upright, narrow or bushy, deciduous annual and perennial herbs, 3–7 ft. (90–215 cm) tall, 18–24 in. (45–60 cm) wide. Alternate or opposite, hairy, textured, yellow green or green, usually coarsely toothed leaves.
See also Common Sunflower, Helianthus annuus, cultivars of annual ornamental herbs grown by flower gardeners for their tall and showy flowers, Sunflowers, also cultivars of Helianthus annuus, grown by vegetable gardeners for their edible seeds, or Jerusalem Artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, a separate species within the sunflower family grown for its edible “sun-chokes,” or tuberous roots.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, single or double, yellow, round flowers, 3–12 in. (75–305 mm) wide, with broad, black, brown, gray centers, as single or clustered blossoms, in summer–autumn.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 4–8.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Average. 5.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full sun to partial shade, 18–36 in. (45–90 cm) apart, after soil warms.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist. Fertilize semi-monthly. Stake tallest cultivars. Propagate by division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for borders, containers, massed plantings in cottage, meadow, vegetable, wildlife gardens. Good for cutting. Attracts birds, butterflies. Stalk borer, sunflower maggot, sunflower moth larvae and powdery mildew, rust susceptible.