Helianthus annuus, sunflower [SEEDS]

Culture notes: Bartram wrote a letter in 1741 ,”I brought a Curious sun flower weed with me when I came from Virginia that growed in my garden a few months 16 foot hight and bore many flowers near a foot diameter.” The best match our staff could find to this description is this; PI 413173 from the USDA collection. A wild sunflower collected in Nebraska. It’s flowers on multibranched stalks are the largest in the USDA collection. Reaches about 9’ tall. Prolific self seeder, goldfinch magnet. Direct seed in garden after frost is passed.

Sun:  Full sun                                                                                                              Water:  Medium                                                                                                      Bloom time: July to September
Soil notes: average, well draining soil, tolerates poor soil