Helianthus maximiliani seed

LATIN NAME: Helianthus maximiliani

COMMON NAME: Maximilian Sunflower

Maximilian sunflower is the tall one, the last of the sunflowers to flower. The tall, upright, perennial plant carries the narrow, willow-like leaves up the strong stems and the clusters of the many small, golden-yellow, daisy-like flowers through the late summer and into the autumn, one of the fine sights of the late border and the wild planting. The plant is a fine, generous presence of the tall planting, giving the gold when the other sunflowers are done. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Maximilian sunflower is a tall, cheerful subject of the plant science, studied for the clusters of the golden-yellow flowers and the way the plant flowers so late in the season. The breeding and the hardiness of the tall sunflowers have been studied at length, and it keeps showing up in the work on the prairie plants, the late-flowering perennials and the members of the daisy family. The narrow, willow-like leaves and the tall, upright habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and the Maximilian sunflower is a regular subject of the studies of the late gold of the border.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The Maximilian sunflower is a tall, generous plant of the late-season garden. The clusters of the many small, golden-yellow flowers open through the late summer and into the autumn, when much of the border is finishing, and the plant gives the late gold to the bees and the border alike. The tall stems also make a fine, living screen and windbreak of the open planting, and the plant is a regular figure of the prairie restoration and the wildflower meadow. It has been written up in the horticultural and the ecological papers for the late flowers and the tall ways, and it is a fine, long-lived plant of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.

The Maximilian sunflower is one of the tall, late sunflowers of the prairie, and the clusters of the many small, golden-yellow flowers open through the late summer and into the autumn. The tall stems make a fine screen and windbreak of the open planting.

To grow the Maximilian sunflower from seed, sow the plump, striped seeds a little under a centimetre deep in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the sun. The seedlings appear within a couple of weeks and grow on tall. With the sun and the well-drained ground, the golden clusters will open through the late summer.

Maximilian sunflower is a perennial sunflower mainly found from Manitoba, in Canada south down to Texas but it is also found scattered throughout the tall grass prairie. The flowers run about three inches across but there are a lot of them. They start blooming as early as the

first week of September and continue for about 5 weeks. At the peak the top half of the plant is covered with these flowers for about three weeks making a very spectacular display. Naturally the bees love them and  butterflies like to stop by them to sip the nectar. Finally the goldfinches feast on the seeds from mid-October to mid-November.