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Tithonia rotundifolia |
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Common name |
Mexican sunflower |
Family |
asteraceae |
Life cycle |
annual |
Flowers |
orange |
Size |
4 ft |
Light |
sun |
Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
From seed |
Germinate at warm temperature (75F) detailed seed-starting info below
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Seed ripens | late September |
Covered in orange daisies mid-summer through fall. One of our favorite large annuals. The first year we grew it was the year Amy and I got married in our back yard, in September. Our guests walked through the side garden (which was new at the time) to the back yard. I scrupulously dead-headed all flowers that summer, hoping for lots of blooms on the big day. And the one I tended to most was the tithonia, which attained a majestic stature and was full of flowers the whole summer. It didn't disappoint us on the day of the wedding!
It's a favorite of insect life, too, as you can see in the closeup photo.
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This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away... One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Tithonia rotundifolia
Visitors to this page have left the following commentsJane Bruesch | Sep 16, 2008 | How do you know when the seeds of the tithonia are ready to be harvested? When the seedheads are brown and dry. They are prickly, but you can carefully pry them open to release substantial brown seeds (along with lots of chaff). |
Gail Ceresia | Sep 27, 2010 | Hi
Please tell me what you mean by baggy. Are you talking about how you stored the seeds? See this page. |
- Seed from '00 garden. Baggy 70F (62%G)
- Seed from '00 garden. Baggy 75F (93%G, 2d)
- Seed from '02 garden. Baggy 75F (60%G, 2-5d)
- Seed from '03 garden. Baggy 75F (94%G, 3d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 75F (90%G, 2-5d)
- Seed from '07 garden. Baggy 75F (75%G, 3d)
- Seed from '06 garden. Baggy 75F (77%G, 3-5d)
- Seed from '09 garden. Baggy 75F (100%G, 3d)
- Seed from '10 garden. Baggy 75F (50%G, 2-4d)
- Seed from '11 garden. Baggy 75F (86%G, 3-5d)
- Seed from '11 garden. Baggy 75F (100%G, 2-4d)
- Seed from '09/'10 garden. Baggy 75F (some G, not as strong as usual: seed is too old)
- Seed from '15 garden. Baggy 70F (no G)
Quick to germinate, but also quick to deteriorate in baggy - needs to be potted up within a day or two after sprouting.
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