I really like this plant i.e. "Woodland Sunflower" (Helianthus divaricatus). It slowly but surely spreads but to my benefit. I have never seen it in a nursery but maybe because it isn't flashy enough. It definitely looks its best in a shady woodland setting. I think there are many more shade plants that flower much earlier in the season so it is nice to see this bright yellow this time of year.
I have the same plant in my woods - a volunteer.
I also like the white cousin, aster divaricatus (eurybia divaricatus).
Another shade native which doesn't overwhelm everything else.
Looks very nice. Maybe we need a thread- Shade plants that Bloom in Summer?
I also like the white cousin, aster divaricatus (eurybia divaricatus).
definitely
and a little bushier
We came home from 2 wk vacation to find the wooded areas of the yard filled with helianthus divaricata in full bloom. You can tell from the picture, this is an untended area - the helianthus holds it's own without any help (I never planted it anyway).
The last picture is of the white woodland native, Eurybia divaricata (formerly Aster divaricata) - it's the only picture I could find; plant is a little ragged (picture is from October of last year, not blooming yet this year).
Edited to add: Boy, yours looks better, Rouge! My plant could use some of your TLC! I guess I could help it out by doing a little weeding!
This message was edited Aug 21, 2016 9:57 AM
Looks just fine to me 'robin! Thanks for the update.
Would y'all please describe how little or how much sun you receive in your yards/gardens? I believe I have the "shady sunflower" - at least my plant greatly resembles it, though I failed to keep a record of what mine was called when I purchased it - but mine has not spread. Mine is in a location where it probably receives about 3-4 hours of sunlight each day. If it has the capability of spreading, I will try to make more room for it to live it up a little!
Mine grows in open woodland - little if any direct sun. It just pops up here & there in the woods. I've never planted it. But I have quite a lot of it. I'm not positive my plant is Helianthus divaricatus, since I know there are a lot of yellow daisy-like flowering plants. But whatever it is, it brightens up a shady part of the woods with cheery blooms in a time of year when not much else is blooming in the woodland.
We live in the woods and I have to study where to put things so they will have enough sun. The "shady sunflower" seems to be doing well and it's surely nice to have the bright blooms so I believe I will give it some compost and perhaps move a couple of other things out of the way for it. Thank you for the info.
Nanauq, if you have Helianthus divaricatus in the woods it will easily spread each successive year.
I surely hope so, rouge21. We have an awful lot of shade. I will try to clip back some things to give it a little more light and air.
