While we mostly know sunflowers as annuals, there are perennial varieties as well. These types are good for the flower garden because they consistently come back each year, providing bright, cheery flowers with less work. Most are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. One of the most popular perennial sunflowers is ‘Maximillian’. This sunflower grows up to 8 feet tall, depending on the soil and water conditions, producing small, yellow sunflowers from late summer until frost.
Swamp sunflowers grow 6 feet tall and are tolerant of salt spray and poor-soil conditions. This is a good one for coastal areas. Another type of sunflower is the Mexican sunflower or Tithonia. This bushy perennial is only hardy in warm areas, so it’s mostly grown as an annual. It produces a 4 to 6 ft tall bushy plant with small orange sunflower-shaped flowers in late summer. There are also varieties, such as ‘Red Torch’, with red-colored flowers. It’s another good cutting-flower type sunflower.
Sunflowers are not only great additions to a flower and vegetable garden for their food and beauty, they are essential habitat plants for pollinators as well.