Are you choosing helianthus cultivars to produce in your garden or in container ? I go for some of my favorites might become your favorites , too .
I must monish you , though . When it comes to sunflowers , like I do when I see photos from my nephew ’s engagement session or songbirds at my feeder , I continually pipe up up with , “ That ’s my favorite ! ” And I mean what I say – until I see the next one …
You , too , can unapologetically have more than one favorite among the democratic cultivars ofHelianthus annuus , because there is so much variety within the radical .
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They come in many colouration , heights , and widths , and they suffice a variety of gardening need .
You may need unlike favorites for growing bird seeded player and planting containers , for model , or forattracting pollinatorsand create centerpieces .
So even with this ready to hand roundup to assist you nail down your choices , you may need to select more than one .
I will help you find the good mixed bag to start with . Further enlargement of your repertoire is up to you !
And I hope you do n’t blame me if you ultimately choose a “ dearie ” from each of the category I ’ll incubate .
Here ’s everything you ’ll discover in this roundup :
15 Favorite Sunflower Cultivars to Grow in Your Garden
I ’ve organized the following natural selection based on how big they get , how they ’re used , and whether their growth habits are branching or single stalk .
A couple settle into more than one category , so be trusted to peruse the whole list to discover what you need .
Branching
Multi - bloom varieties that branch out fare in many hues , and are idealistic for heyday beds and border .
Some are heirloom favourite , others the latest hybrid . These are some of the best branching sunflowers to grow in your garden :
1. Autumn Beauty
If variety is the spiciness of your liveliness , ‘ Autumn Beauty ’ might be your type of sunflower .
This open - cross-pollinate ramify salmagundi grows 60 to 80 column inch tall and includes a fat classification of fall - hue blooms , including orange , red , and yellows .
It ’s a good selection for the impatient gardener among us , since anthesis begin just 60 days from sowing . I especially wish all the unique colour you get from a exclusive pack of seeds .
‘ Autumn Beauty ’
Just a glimpse of the peak will make you want to grab your jumper and something sweet that ’s sprinkled with pumpkin spice …
‘ Autumn Beauty ’ seeds are useable in various packet size and in bulkfrom Eden Brothers .
2. Chocolate
I ’m not going to tell you these bloom of youth are as tasty as their namesake , because that would be a Trygve Lie . The petals and buds are comestible , though , if you grow them without chemical substance spray .
‘ Chocolate ’ has its own delicious appeal – as center confect . It sports deeply - colored peak in shades of mahogany and drinking chocolate brown .
It grows four to five animal foot tall , and each flora produce multiple blossom that pollinators seek out .
engage 65 to 75 days to blossom from seeding , the flowers provide color in the garden after the fountain annual have fade , and before the slow - to - matured sunflowers like ‘ gigantic ’ start blooming in tardy summer .
‘ Chocolate ’
In the cut garden , the rich colouring of these is a fantastic complement to any cream - colour kind , like ‘ Italian White , ’ which you ’ll study about in a minute .
‘ Chocolate ’ seeds are available in various packet boat sizesfrom Eden Brothers .
3. Goldy Honey Bear
I ’m not sure what these gorgeous double rosiness have to do with bears , but they are honey - colour , so what ’s in a name ?
To me , the petal look like a sundown that you ’d see at the beach , shoot out pointed electron beam of gold with rosy highlight near the wan unripened centers .
The flowers traverse five to seven inches across , and flower over a farseeing catamenia of clip .
Each plant has multiple branches , so you’re able to expect lots of these sizable blooms from a packet of seeds , protrude about 60 days after sow .
Another bonus : They have A-one sturdy bow , so even though they produce to five or six feet marvellous , there ’s no staking required .
‘ Golden Honey Bear ’
Since they ’re virtually pollenless , you’re able to love them in floral organisation .
One or two placed in a simple glass vase are so attractive that you wo n’t need to tally more filler or verdure , which certainly appeal to low - key home interior designer like me .
‘ Golden Honey Bear ’ seeds are available in 25 - seed packetsfrom Botanical Interests .
4. Italian White
This hardy branch variety show bring on a cornucopia of creamy blooms with dark centers .
I hate to do this to you if you have n’t eaten lunch yet , but I have to share my impression that the name and colour scheme of these always reminds me of Italian cream patty …
The vertical stalks maturate to 48 to 60 inches tall . Like many one-time - fashioned varieties , they take a while to blossom , somewhere between 90 and 110 days .
When they break away with clump of four - in , daisy - like blooms , the hold will seem worth it , especially since they ’ll keep flower for a calendar month or more .
‘ Italian White ’
Cut the stems often for flowered transcription , and to advance more blossom .
‘ Italian White ’ seeds areavailable from Eden Brothers .
Dwarf
If yougrow yours only in containers , or just want a realizable sizing for a blossom bed , dwarf helianthus are a popular option to choose .
In some case , they produce material flower heads on stems and stem that attain a peak of just 12 to 36 inches . Other dwarf varieties have petite blooms .
Here are three of the sound space - saving cultivars to consider :
5. Sunspot
Do n’t overthink the name of this cultivar ! The flowers are not blotchy or morose like the spots on the sunlight that Galileo and Thomas Harriot firstidentified more than four 100 ago .
This mighty - but - bantam plant produces superfluous - large heyday heads , on inflexible stalks that reach just 18 to 24 inches tall . It draws bees and other pollinators , too .
While it ’s ideal for container ontogenesis , I ’d also encourage you to try out with ‘ Sunspot ’ as a low - lying flower hedgerow along walkways .
Or , arise it in front of tall cultivars that have contrasting colors , like ‘ Velvet Queen . ’
Like all of its open - pollinatedH. annuusrelatives , ‘ Sunspot ’ sports edible petals – as long as you grow the plants without using chemical atomiser .
‘ Sunspot ’
They taste just a flake acrimonious , like young dandelion special K , and make a middling garnish for leafy salads or sprinkled in midget shreds atop cakes with creamy icing .
see ‘ Sunspot ’ come in two - gramme packetsavailable at Botanical Interests .
6. Teddy Bear
With blurred , doubly - petaled , hopeful white-livered blooms , ‘ Teddy Bear ’ seems kind of cuddly .
And it ’s also a space saver . It raise two to four feet tall , yet grow flower that are five to six inch across .
They take about 75 days from seeding to originate bloom , but that bloom fling may last for five weeks .
‘ Teddy Bear ’
you may recover ‘ Teddy Bear ’ seeds in one - gram packetsavailable at Botanical Interests .
understand this nanus variety in your garden in our guide .
7. Topolino
This fresh little yellow cultivar does what the handsome guys do , only on a lower planer .
‘ Topolino ’ produces payload of bright , single - petal blossoms on industrial plant that top out at 16 inches tall .
Among popular dwarf variety , it ’s strange because it branches out rather of growing on single - root word stalks .
‘ Topolino ’
The branch trait is nice in a small - sizing helianthus if you project to expend it to fill in one-year beds in midsummer , or if you just want a variety that will look healthy and overspread to the corners of a container planting .
‘ Topolino ’ seeds are available in bundle of various sizesfrom Eden Brothers .
For Eating
Birds and human beings alike can eat the seeds from any open - pollinated variety show ofH. annuus , but some home garden cultivars are particularly pop because they grow lavish amounts of meaty seeds .
Some of these are beloved heirloom , towering over the rest of the garden , with flower heads exceed a foot in diam . Others are more recently breed cultivar .
Note that these are also the ones that are so tasty you ’ll be willing tofight the squirrel for the harvest time .
Here are three of the best for anyone who need to eat the seeds after the bright blooms have died back :
8. Mammoth Grey Stripe
No kidding , one lilliputian ‘ Mammoth Grey Stripe ’ seed produces a stalk that can grow eight to 12 feet tall ! The prime straits at the top will be at least 10 inch in diameter , and maybe as wide as 13 inches .
This variety is also open pollinated , which means it puff bees and other pollinator and trust on them , too .
To grow and enjoy this well - known cultivar , you ’ll call for to be able-bodied to embed it somewhere with plenty of sun and water , and where no one ’s been spraying pesticide .
And the statuesque shuck require support , like a fencing or bamboo stakes , with enough room so you may space them at least three feet apart .
Oh , and not to burst any bubble , but please keep in mind that tend these is a retentive - term prospect . They take 100 to 110 days from inseminate to blooming . That does not allow for enough time if you are imbed late this year , or have other icing in your area .
These bonus - laden babies are deserving all the resources you ’ll spend , though . The blooms can last for more than a month before they droop to signal harvest sentence is come near . Each prime can potentially yield more than 100 seminal fluid , and the plants are deer resistant too !
project to embrace the mature heads with clear so you wo n’t have to share with birds or squirrels – at least not until you localise the gray - striped seedsin the feedersnext winter .
‘ Mammoth Grey Stripe ’
Or , if you ’re not worried about forlorn chickadee and cardinal grosbeak , put in the whole harvest home to jest at for your human protagonist .
‘ Mammoth Grey Stripe ’ sow areavailable from Eden Brothersin various packet size and in bulk up to five pounds , and also inpackets of constituent seeds .
9. Mongolian Giant
call up when you were a kid and sunflowers seemed so big and tall because you were so small ?
‘ Mongol Giant ’ has that same force on adults . This variety is immense ! The stalks develop 12 to 14 invertebrate foot tall , and produce just one efflorescence apiece .
But you wo n’t feel chicane , because each flower caput is a whopping 14 to 18 inches in diameter . That ’s prominent than a dinner party plate !
They take about 90 days to bloom . The showy yellow blossom heads may last another four to six weeks before dropping their flower petal , and forming giant seeded player heads fill with contents coveted by humans and songster alike .
If you have the space , and they have the command aid span , grow ‘ Mongolian Giant ’ is a greatproject to try with kids . At the peak of the grow season , the stalks will gain more than an inch per 24-hour interval .
‘ Mongolian Giant ’
Some enterprising parents coach these to get as sort of a living tepee , but I prefer the simpler approach of grow several along a fence to put up a shaded play spot in the summertime .
‘ Mongol Giant ’ seeds are uncommitted in 12 - gram packetsfrom Botanical Interests .
10. Super Snack
Not quick to incline jumbo stubble , but you still want to bask aharvest of homegrown sunflower seedsat the close of the blossom season ? ‘ Super Snack ’ might be your solution !
This hybrid arise five infantry tall , and hold 60 to 70 day to flower .
The blooms , one per stem , look much like ‘ Mongol Giant ’ blossom , only they ’re about 10 inches in diameter .
Each produces up to a British pound of meaty kernels , and the good seeds are ready about a month to six weeks after the plants bloom .
‘ Super Snack ’
This semen - boasting variety also works as a cut efflorescence , and can do double obligation as a nutrient provider and privacy concealment .
‘ Super Snack ’ seed are usable in packet of 50from Burpee .
Medium-Tall Types
Not seek county fairish competition - size sunflowers ? Medium - statured change are also an pick .
It ’s not necessary to commit to a 15 - metrical unit mammoth helianthus just to have some height for hedge , edge , or privateness fence . Sometimes the varieties that arise four to seven feet tall are just the thing .
Moderately tall sunflower are a decent alternative when you want to plant a full meadow or a farseeing row of single - base blooms ( my favorite ! ) that wo n’t demand support , or not much .
Those striking floral arrangements in thick vas also search smashing featuring variety with tall , but not loom , stalking .
If you ’re not quite sure you want the mid - height types , watch out the following five , and you might reconsider :
11. Lemon Queen
ABBA has their “ Dancing Queen , ” but gardener get ‘ Lemon Queen , ’ and it ’s every bit as cheerful as the disco call .
Super easy to turn and extra - appealing to pollinator , ‘ Lemon Queen ’ attain heights of five to seven feet . It produces blooms with lemony petals and deep chocolate-brown centers .
It matures in 100 days , so you ’ll need to be patient . But keep in head that the bud are comestible , so harvesting some of the bounty to begin with is also an pick .
‘ Lemon Queen ’ usually raise one primary salad days atop the centre stalk , and then small blooms originate on side shoots . It will keep flowering until the first Robert Frost hit .
‘ Lemon Queen ’
If you ’re design to deplete some bud and wish to have spate of blooms for flowered placement as well , regard successive plantings every workweek or two .
barricade seed more when it ’s 12 weeks before your area ’s average first freeze date .
‘ Lemon Queen ’ seeds are available in two - gram packetsfrom Botanical Interests .
12. ProCut Bicolor
With one blossom per angry walk , ProCut is a series of pollenless cross originate for those who want to have material for floral arrangements – hence the “ professional ” in the name .
These are also fast , blossom just 50 to 65 days from seeding . This create a great selection if you live on in an area with a short growing season , or if you ’re a footling late planting out .
The ‘ Bicolor ’ variety is ablaze with sunset colors , so the three- to four - inch flower head are affect in borders or embed alongside the mailbox , too .
They ’re reasonably marvelous , reaching four to six feet before bloom , so it ’s possible they ’ll call for staking or other support .
ProCut ‘ Bicolor ’
Make certain to pluck them mighty before they flower , and place the stalks in a recondite vase so they do n’t droop .
ProCut ‘ Bicolor ’ is available in 500 - seed packetsfrom True Leaf Market .
13. Taiyo
One of the most popular heirloom sunflowers,‘Taiyo ’ hails from Japan , and take 12 to 14 week from sowing to bloom .
A butterfly stroke and bee magnet , each plant produces a exclusive bloom head about 10 column inch wide .
The petals are mincing , and smother striking deep orange and mahogany centers .
And the plants inch up to five to seven foot before blooming . They ’ll throw a reasonable amount of shade , so be deliberate with what you grow near these statuesque stunner .
‘ Taiyo ’
Plant ‘ Taiyo ’ for pollinators , cut bloom , or just to gaze at . A few are lovely , a field full of them is magnificent .
‘ Taiyo ’ is available in variously sized packets and in bulk up to five poundsfrom Eden Brothers .
14. Tall Teddy
Oops , there ’s that Bible again . ‘ Teddy Bear ’ is one of myfavoritesamong the gnome , and I was so felicitous to discover the same fluffy flower style in a cultivar that grows six feet tall .
‘ grandiloquent Teddy ’ is an appealing choice for a non - traditional helianthus meadow . Or , develop four or five against a fencing instrument panel or treillage for a privacy screen .
The double blooms are glorious , a full 10 inches across .
‘ Tall Teddy ’
Sometimes the stalks raise multiple bloom , though the side blooms tend to be smaller than the main prime head .
‘ grandiloquent Teddy ’ seeds are available in a variety show of bundle sizesfrom Eden Brothers .
15. Velvet Queen
Here ’s another majestic name for another splendid , free - furcate helianthus .
Just veer on “ magniloquent , ” the four- to six - foot ‘ Velvet Queen ’ is a quintessential red cultivar . The bloom have label jet pitch-dark centers , and subtle orangish highlights on the point .
This heirloom motley produces mightily over the time of year . It starts with a few blooms around 55 days after sowing , amplification momentum for a boastful show a few weeks after that , and continue on for month , with the last flowers blooming just before the first frost .
The flowers are usually six inches across , but can sometimes produce to almost eight inches in diameter .
‘ Velvet Queen ’
These plant are popular in edge and along walkways , and in flowered organization paired with more traditional yellow-bellied - petaled varieties .
Find ‘ Velvet Queen ’ seeds in several packet size or in bulkat Eden Brothers .
Take a Shine to These Sunflowers
Once you start growing sunflowers , I suspect you ’ll continue , and that the procedure will involve lots of fun option as you go along .
You may start with a branching variety for a flower bed border , for good example , later set a couple of heavyweight to provide seeds for the local birds , and then gradually addpollenless varietiesfor flower arrangements .
Or maybe you ’ll stick with your original choice for tenner . And that ’s marvelous too !
In any case , you ’ll continue to discover fresh combinations and standout change suitable of consideration for as long as you continue to garden . The selection process alone can provide 60 minutes of enjoyment .
If this introduction to popular varieties intrigued you , we have a encompassing excerption ofH. annuuscoverage available . Check out thesesunflower guidesnext :
© take the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more contingent . in the first place bring out July 28 , 2021 . Last updated April 12 , 2023 . Product photos via Botanical Interests , Eden Brothers , and straight Leaf Market . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Rose Kennedy
