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Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Mexican Sunflower
Mexican Sunflower

Tithonia rotundifolia
$4.50
Description

A wonderful and hardy plant reaching 6-7' tall, with bright neon orange flowers. One of the most attractive flowers for our local pollinators and other beneficial insects. Sun- loving and drought tolerant when established. They can get a big lanky in appearance, so if you keep a tidy garden, this tough plant may not be for you, or better planted along a back fence where it can still receive good sun and be admired. 
Product details
  • About 40 seeds
  • 80 days to harvest
  • Seeds grown in Working Food gardens at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida
How to grow

Sow 1/4-1/2" deep, spaced 9-12". Can be direct sown after last frost. Will self-sow readily. Can be planted just about anytime in North Florida after April when it's frost free and only getting warmer. They will continue flowering until frost.

 
How to save seeds

Seeds develop in the spiky, somewhat painful flower heads long after the flowers have died back. After flowering, the petals will shrivel away and the central flower head will fill with seeds.

Ideally, wait until the stem where it connects to the flower head starts to turn brown and droop. As always in our climate, we try to let the seeds mature on the plant as long as possible without losing them to rain, humidity, or animals. If they are close but lots of wet weather is in the forecast, clip long stems and bring inside to further develop and dry.

When the seeds are mature, put on gloves and rub the flower heads vigorously to release them. You'll get plenty of chaff along with the seeds, which can be separated by blowing gently with a fan—or just blowing on them yourself.

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