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bostedo

Does Maximilian sunflower bloom this early in TX?

We planted Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) back of border expecting it to bloom late summer/early fall. However, it bloomed for the first time last year in June and is doing the same this year. Does it normally bloom this early in Texas or possible we got a different sunflower variety by mistake? Looks and behaves like h. maximillani in most other respects. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Maximilian Sunflower Fact Sheet (pdf)

Comments (10)

  • PKponder TX Z7B
    9 years ago

    Mine have always bloomed in early October. Yours absolutely looks like Maximillian though!

  • bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for confirming the August - October bloom window we were expecting applies to north Texas. The north/south range is so broad, thought maybe they bloomed earlier in our longer growing season. Guess we'll try another source for a fall blooming plant to use in the border; already have a small patch of the spring blooming Maximilians going in the alley of misfit plants.

  • linda_tx8
    9 years ago

    Mine usually start blooming anytime from August to September here.

  • beachplant
    9 years ago

    mine blooms in the fall here on the island.
    Tally Ho!

  • bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Clearly something odd about our spring sunflowers now knowing h. maximiliani normally blooms in the fall all the way to the Texas coast. Anybody know if there are environmental things that could cause this or is it something in the genes that makes a plant flower in the wrong season?

  • lucas_tx_gw
    9 years ago

    I have Simpson's rosin weed blooming now, Max never blooms till fall. Max is only about a foot tall right now, SR is probably 4 feet.

    Maybe it's misidentified?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Silphium simpsonii

  • bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    lucas_tx, First thought was that it may have been mis-tagged, but leaves/structure look like Maximilian and was obtained from a normally reliable source... but then, I'm pretty poor at distinguishing among very similar plants. Does Simpson's bloom along the single stem like Max?

  • Perylene
    9 years ago

    My Maximilian sunflower bloomed early last summer, I think starting in late May or so, but I started it indoors from seeds earlier that spring, so I wasn't surprised by the odd timing. After a year in the ground it's acting more like I thought it would -- growing into a thick clump, really tall, no blooms so far. In fact, I've cut back some of the tallest stalks already to make it a little more bushy-- even without watering part of it was already around 7' and I didn't want it to snap in the wind.

  • bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Perylene, Glad to hear yours came around. "New plant" was the excuse I gave ours last year, but found it had set buds in May again when I went to cut it back a bit. Did read somewhere that they take a couple years to get established, so may give it another year before swapping it for one from a different source. I like it, just have a lot of other yellow going at this time of year that peters out by September.

  • lucas_tx_gw
    9 years ago

    Sorry I've not been able to go get photos but another thing about Max's is that the leaves are a lot more folded for lack of a better word, where the rosin weed they are more flat and a lot narrower.

    I guess we need a botanist to key them out and tell us the differences.

    Another thing about Max is it always seems to grow in clumps, even the ones I've started from seed.

    I have to travel this week but will try to get photos on the weekend.