Helianthus angustifolius
My husband Wade break away a lawn care business and his clients who are combat-ready in garden clubs and enthusiastic about repeated garden design often share starts with him .
One of my absolute favorites is the swamp helianthus he prevail this room . This was , I do n’t make out , 15 years ago ?
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Photo by Rose Kennedy.
Since its arrival , theHelianthus angustifoliushas been thriving in a tiny bed beneath a downspout that is always moist and sometimes a morsel soggy .
It has reseed along a nearby fence we share with a neighbor , where in early evenfall it ’s eight or nine feet magniloquent and creates a privacy fencing .
Wade has also grown the air division in a half - barrel - size of it container some year , and we always have seeds and divisions to share with our horticulture Quaker .
It ’s not the only sunflower I grow . I ’m a fully grown fan of the annual varieties , theH. annuumtypes that provide birds cum and may have spare - large blooms .
But for a low-pitched - maintenance perennial that will grow in moist conditions , efflorescence in the drop , and can resist the Great Compromiser or sandy soil and episodic drouth , I do n’t think you could beat the swampland sunflower .
If this sounds like a plant you could bask in your own blank , I ’m here to share more about its outgrowth habits and endearing calibre . Here ’s what I ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
What Are Swamp Sunflowers?
swampland sunflower are aboriginal to the eastern United States .
Part of the aster folk , this is one of the perennial sunflowers that is not as wide grown as the larger - bloomed , germ - heavy , yearly varieties , H. annuum .
You canfind more about growing and caring for yearly sunflowers in our templet .
Native sunflowers such asH. angustifoliuswere cultivated by indigenous tribe throughout North America part about 3,000 BCE . The ancient tribes ordinarily used these crops for food , music , dye , and rouge .
These plants may have been domesticated even before corn . These days , the flowers grow throughout the US , flourish in floodplain , peat bog , pond , and higher ground from New York to the coastal south and on over to Texas and Arizona .
swampland sunflowers are also known as “ minute - leaf sunflowers ” due to the unusual shape of their obscure green , rasping foliation .
The leaves are a pretty landscape painting element on their own , exuberant and unripe , and they put up ocular interest embark on in early spring and continuing until the plants die back in former fall .
The industrial plant circulate via rhizomes , often covering up to four feet in a single season . In fond areas , the plants will return each year , and they are also self - seeding .
To learn more about the difference between annual and perennial sunflowers , see our template .
The stem usually strain five to eight feet tall , look on the miscellany , but some may soar to 10 feet or more . The plants bloom in late summer and stay for 45 to 60 days , so they provide a source ofcolor in the declivity garden , too .
They’repollinator magnetsfor various insects , and their foliage attracts the larvae of checkerspot butterflies ( Chlosynesspp . ) .
Songbirds are also attracted to the meaty source – though they ’re not tumid enough to be worthwhile for human usance .
The swampland helianthus produce in conditions that thwart most other perennial flowers , including coastal salt airwave , sandy grunge , and crocked conditions . If you ’re concerned in get ahead all those advantages , more growing info is add up .
Swamp Sunflower Propagation
The easiest way to propagate a swamp helianthus is from partitioning . If you have a source , hurray !
Learn how to divide perennials in our guide . Doing this in the fall after blooming is preferred , or in early spring once the parent plant is a few inches marvelous .
You may also be able to find part to purchase from a local native plant greenhouse .
Transplant into the garden immediately , setting each air division into a hole the same size of it as the stool it make out in or deep enough so that the rhizome is shroud and the crown is at soil layer .
Backfill with garden grunge and urine in well .
You ’ll want to keep the territory moist for the first two calendar month . After they ’re established , they ’ll be fine if your area have occasional dry patch , though these plants originate best with ordered moisture .
you could also seed seeds either indoors or instantly into the garden .
imbed them indoors about four week before your area ’s last hoar using a sterile potting mixture and a shallow tray or individual cells .
Press the seeds into the surface without bury them , space them two per jail cell or about four inches apart .
Keep them moist and in a room temperature area , and they should sprout within seven to 12 days .
Place the sprouts on a sunny windowsill or about eight inches beneath agrow light , and keep the soil moist until the plant life have at least two sets of true leaves .
Once the threat of rime has passed , spend a week or so harden off the seedlings before transpose them outdoors .
To sow in the seed directly outdoors , press them into the soil surface and pass over them with only a fine dusting of dirt . They ask lightness to develop .
Keep them moist until they germinate , and once the seedling have two or three sets of true leaves , thin them to stand at least 12 inches apart .
I ’ll admit that I do n’t worry about the spacing when my industrial plant self - seed , but I will pull a few of the plants if they get going turn so closely together that they do n’t get enough water and start wilting .
Once you ’ve get the plant in place , swamp sunflowers are relatively harum-scarum . Keep reading for more tips on rise these native perennial .
How to Grow Swamp Sunflowers
The whole point of grow a plant with a name like “ swamp sunflower ” is to have pretty blooms in a commonly inhospitable spot .
So please do set these sunny flowers in a spot with ill enfeeble soil .
you may grow them in well - draining soil , and they ’ll admittedly be happiest there , but they can also handle part Henry Clay with poor drain . Ironically , they ’ll also do fine in flaxen filth .
As for the Lord’s Day , they ’ll dobest in full Lord’s Day , six to eight hours per Clarence Day . But if that soggy blot you ’re count to fill only offers fond sun or part shade exposure , they ’ll make do .
you could prepare the stain by adding composted manure or other aged constituent material ahead of prison term , working a two - inch level into the top four or five inches of soil . But if you ’re not inclined to go to that much trouble , this plant will thrive anyhow .
You will desire to give the plants ample space . They can spread as much as four feet all-embracing , so let them have way to annul powdery mildew .
As for water , well , that ’s a necessity . If rain does n’t providean inch or so per weekduring the grow season , you should supplement with waterfrom a hoseor lachrymation can , being careful to irrigate at the grime surface , not from above the leaves .
Once the plants are established and a twosome of months older , they can even hold a full stop of drouth . As I said , they ’re very promiscuous to manage for .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
These plants do n’t need mulch or plant food , but I recommend one maintenance whole tone : Pruning .
If you pinch the stems back to about half their height in midsummer , before they ’ve started budding , they ’ll be broad , more bushy , and wo n’t look as scraggly when they flower .
If you leave out the opportunity though , do n’t fret . They ’ll still look appealing with gangly , 10 - foot swathes of sensationalistic blooming bend over the soggy patch in your aboriginal planting area or edge .
Where to Buy Swamp Sunflowers
I fervently hope you have a friend with swampland sunflowers to obtain saved seeds or a division or two without scuffle .
You may be able to find a air division at a aboriginal industrial plant greenhouse in your sphere too , or perhaps via a local nurseryman ’s group .
Swamp Sunflowers
It ’s also possible to find seeded player online . One solid option is the swamp sunflowers uncommitted fromChuxay Garden via Amazonin 100 - seed packets .
Managing Pests and Disease
Happily , this aboriginal perennial does not incur as many pests anddiseasesas itsH. annuumrelatives prized for their seed .
The sunflower midges that plague the large seed forefront wo n’t shine the more modest blooms , for example .
Deerandrabbitsmay Edvard Munch on the leave , but only if they do n’t have more appealing options in the spring and summertime garden . And since the germ are smaller and less plentiful , squirrels wo n’t usually strike either .
As for insect pest , some Caterpillar and beetles might gnaw at on the leaves , but they wo n’t keep the plant from bloom by and by .
If you care , you may take measuring stick to spray the foliage , but I prefer to let the plants grow on since insect pestis do n’t do too much damage , and various insect powder can ache thepollinatorsthat depend on plant like swampland sunflower .
There is a luck these wet - loving plants will sustain diseases includingpowdery mildew , rust fungus , or fungal leaf slur .
Here , too , the wrong is usually minor , and the plants can flourish without intervention . If the appearance bothers you though , you may want to try an organic fungicide such as copper .
For more crown on coping with darkling beetle , sunflower beetle , thistle caterpillars , and wireworms , see ourguide to sunflower pests .
Best Uses for Swamp Sunflowers
While they do n’t yield mass quantity of seed to roast or save for the birds like annual sunflowers , H. angustifoliusis highly desirable in many garden situations .
First , they ’re idealistic for a swampy spot , like the dirt at the bottom of a downspout or an area near a pond .
They ’re adorable innative planting , where their ingathering to pollinators will also assist the entire ecosystem thrive .
They also look good at the back of borders , especially in a fall - flower repeated garden , where they ’ll bring home the bacon gloss long after summer annuals have stopped flowering .
And do n’t forget that they are a good choice for coastal garden since they can sustain some salt melody .
Last but not least , they ’re a great choice for the flower gardener who does n’t want to fuss .
Not only are they promiscuous to like for , they readily self - seed , and the rootstock will typically resprout each year as well .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Swamped with Perennial Sunflowers
I ’m fond of the cheerful appearance of helianthus .
I ’m happy this motley offer an choice for gardener who grow in sandy soil or coastal areas – or who want the ease of a plant that will come back time of year after season .
And for more helpful info ongrowing all case of sunflowers in your gardenor landscape , read these guide next :
photograph by Rose Kennedy © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product photo via Chuxay Gardens . Uncredited photo : Shutterstock .
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Rose Kennedy
