Sunflower - Annual Flower Plant For Your Garden © 2006

Sunflower

Helianthus annuals Family - Compositae - Daisy

The cheery sunflower plant is a native of North America. Most are fairly aggressive hardy perennial wildflowers which are a fairly diverse group because of their ability to hybridize to accommodate local conditions. The garden sunflower is an annual, native from Minnesota west to Washington and south to California. It has found a place in flower gardens all over the world.

The sunflower has been hybridized by plant breeders into many hundreds of different varieties. They range in height from about two feet to over twelve feet. The most popular color is yellow, but the colors range from velvety reds, bronze, copper, white and cream. The flowers themselves range in size from two inches to over twelve inches. The smaller ones are suitable for suburban flower gardens and would provide a showy centerpiece for a flower bed. The larger ones make an impressive show in back of a flower bed.

Sunflowers bloom in mid summer, and will attract birds to the garden which will love to feed on the developing seeds. Squirrels have been known to feed on them, too, sometimes cutting the flower heads off. That is about the only pest that seems to bother them, though.

Sunflowers are easy to plant and grow. The seeds are fairly large, they germinate quickly, making them an ideal plant for small children to grow to early learn an appreciation for gardening. They require only full sun and decent soil to be happy and reward you with their bright flowers.

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