Mexican Sunflower ....

I remember we had a discussion a while back about Sunflowers being used as a host plant. But I didn't remember if the Mexican Sunflower was a host plant and if so ...... for what moth or butterfly. Can anyone refresh my short memory?

Here is a photo of mine. This is a single plant. It "was" in a pot. Of which it broke right out of the bottom and rooted to the ground underneath. The trunk is rather thick. I plan to prune this baby back today along with cutting the pot up around the base to free it. It's so bushy that I can't even walk around it now without almost breaking branches off. It makes a great privacy screen from my neighbors. LOL! But boy is it a monster! (I love it though. When it blooms it is outstanding!!!) I'm afraid to think how long and big the root system on this plant is. It has not been one bit invasive though. Just BIG! lol

Here is a photo of the trunk still inside the pot. Eek! Bad gardener, bad Becky!!!!

OMG!!! That is huge! Didn't it die over the winter? Mine do. Another problem I have with them is the branches are very weak, I have to stake them 500 different ways to keep them from breaking.

I love those plants, though I've never seen any cats using them as a host, just nectar. That would be great if it was used as a host. Maybe someone knows.

Maybe I should keep it in a pot like yours...it looks very healthy!

Rox - LOL!

In winter a few leaves did drop off, but kill it? Ha,ha,ha,ha .... NO! I think it is Godzilla the Sunflower on steriods! LOL! I don't know what would kill it short of digging it up and burning it! =;-O

I received this plant from a teacher at my school. She handed me this bare stalk that looked a little like a very thick bamboo stick. No leaves, no roots, no nothing! She told me to just stick it in the ground and it would grow. I was like .... yeah right. But I did (only I stuck it in a pot instead) and within a very short time it started growing like crazy!

I do not know how tall it would actually get. I have never let it get over 8' tall. (Because it touches the roof of my porch.) But it is the most determined plant I have in my entire yard. No lie!

I have seeds for it, but would never think of growing it that way because .... if I just stick some of the pruned branches in dirt .... ta da! A nice, big new Sunflower bush will be growing in no time at all! LOL It's the craziest thing I have ever seen grow. And the more ya prune it the bushier it gets. I have only abused it too. No water, no fertilizer, no tender loving care ... nadda! And it just thrives! LOL

Here is what it looks like in bloom. Of which it blooms profusely and attracts the bees and some butterflies like crazy!

Bordered Patch uses sunflowers as a larval host.

Oooh that is one huge root...with lots of sucker roots showing up too. I can't call you a bad gardener because I often have roots growing out the bottom of pots that I never planted either. Not sure if they use all species of sunflower though. I dug some up from the ranch last month when I raised a gob of BPs. A couple of really tall plants sprouted in my flower bed...not sure how they got there...but I let them grow. Have seen some caterpillars using it too...so maybe their not too discriminating.

~ Cat

Good golly, that's huge!!! And the trunk on that thing! How old is it? I think my evening primrose is trying to aspire to be something along the lines of your Mexican Sunflower, but it doesn't have a chance.
That's very pretty!!

I was referring to mine as a Tithonia, I'm not sure what yours is...do you know what the botanical name is Becky? Is it a bf magnet? That is one amazing plant! Pretty flowers too!

This message was edited Jun 10, 2007 1:16 PM

I found it...yours is Tithonia diversifolia and mine is the orange one, T. rotundifolia.

If you get any seeds, may I please have 1 or 2?

Felicia - I heard about Evening Primrose. Please take a photo of it and post here. I'd love to see what that plant looks like!:-)

Rox - Absolutely! I do have seeds! I will send you some this week. Oops .... I think you were asking Felicia about seeds for her plants. LOL!

This message was edited Jun 11, 2007 11:37 AM

this plant was tiny, as in, it fit in the palm of my hand when I got it last summer. I've never given it any kind of miracle grow or Messenger -- and at this point, I'm afraid to!!!

Here's a picture of the blooms. I don't know if you're aware of this, but, you can sit and watch the flowers bloom. It is the most incredible thing you could ever see. The man that gave me the plant last year said "when you watch the flower bloom, you know there is a God, because man could never create something so wonderous."

Lily, I love those too....they reseed madly here, but in a good way. They also are easy to transplant.

Thanks Becky!

Felicia - I received seeds for the Evening Primrose in a group swap. I was reading about it and it said that it could be invasive. It sounded so lovely though that I am going to pot it up in a large container with some other plants. Thanks for posting those photos! Nice, very nice plant!!! :-)

I recently added Moonflower to my garden and was totally blown away by that blooming before my eyes. The flowers are huge white flowers on a vine. Just amazing! It was like a double WOW! LOL Do you have any of them in your garden? If not, when I get some seeds from mine I am willing to share some with you. D-mail me if you'd like some of those. They need something to climb since they are vines. I have heard they have a nice fragrance, too, but they are at the back against the fence and I can NOT get that close to them because of all the other plants in front of them. Here's a photo of one of the blooms!

This message was edited Jun 11, 2007 7:17 AM

.Wow Becky, your sunflower is so pretty even without blooms on it. I can just imagine what it is gonna look like soon in full bloom. : )

I finally got a bloom on my red Tithonia yesterday, if I had known they were so pretty and bright, I would have planted alot more. I think I will anyway. : )

BlueGlancer, like Becky mentioned, just pop off a stem and stick it in the ground. It should root and bloom for you now.

Ok.....I will. I think I will wait till it gets alittle bigger. It's so pretty right now. : )

I don't know about yours, Lucy ..... but mine actually get thick stalks on them. I have never tried planting tender branches. I would definitely wait until it gets bigger and you get some hardy growth there. Love your orange colored blooms! I've never grown that variety. I am also growing some dwarf Pacino Sunflowers that are rather small and cute. Like a mini-me version of my large Mexican Sunflowers. MIne haven't gotten taller than 18" so far. Big blooms for such a small plant! :-) Here's a photo.

Those are so cute, Becky. : ) Little mini full-sized sunflowers.
I wanna work outside right now,....but it's a scorcher today. : (

Hi hear ya! I do most of my gardening early morning and very late afternoon. Definitely too hot during the day. I feel sorry for the plants. They all look limp and wilted during the afternoon hours, but perk right back up when the sun starts setting. :-)

Funny, too ..... but I was watching one of my squirrels go to the feeder bowls on the ground, grab a nut, and then run over to a shady spot close-by to eat it. It was too hot for him as well! LOL!

Year before last I started a Mexican sunflower from about four little 12" long cuttings. It's grown into a monster and has spread at least 30 feet. This weekend DH had to trim part of it away because it was crowding out a cassia. Fortunately, it's at the back of our property where it has room to grow, but we have to be careful that it doesn't grow up to and under our neighbor's fence! DH wants to get rid of it, but I'd like to keep it as long as it's under control...which it doesn't seem to be! The friend who gave me the cuttings called it the giant plant, but I thought she meant it got tall, not wide! I doubt I would have planted it had I known it would get this big. I love the foliage and the flowers, but I have to say it's invasive.

Do you have a picture of it, biv? : )
~Lucy

No, but I'll get one tomorrow.

Is the mexican sunflower that y'all are discussing called Tithonia diversiflora?
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/59827/

Yes, Deborah! I believe that is the one! I just transplanted mine since it was pot-bound and needed to be moved a little bit out from the side of my porch. I keep it trimmed to about 4' and it gets bushy. It makes a great screen from my neighbors and also for bird watching. I can sit out on my porch and watch the critters without them seeing me easily. They don't realize I am out there because this makes such a nice natural screen. It can get huge if not pruned back. And when it flowers in the Fall it is gorgeous!!! And the bees are all over the blooms. I haven't seen that many butterflies on it, though the skippers seem to like it! :-)

I made the mistake of planting a Mexican Sunflower seedling right beside the pool a couple of years ago. It has grown and grown. I have pruned it several times. Here's a picture that gives you an idea of how big it is. Look just past my dog and grand-dogs on the left side of the pool. lol
Terrie