Let's talk "Tithonias"?!?

Or otherwise known as "Mexican Sunflowers"

Hi, again, everyone!

Not much new is blooming in our sunny border, but my Tithonia "The Torch" just started and it is quite something! So Orange and So Fun!

Anyway, I am surprised more isn't made of tithonias, and, since it is a new flower for me, I was hoping that some of you could show some pics and share some tips on growing them...

I am especially interested whether there are different varieties and colors, who is hybridizing them and which supplier stocks the best variety of seeds...

Thanks for any thoughts. t.

The swallowtails seem to love them, too....

Wonderful photo, tabasco! I've never grown these, but I am interested, you wouldn't have a shot of the foliage on that one would you? No hurry, but if you could post one, please!

I had some that were yellow a few years ago. I think they were called Goldfinger. I didn't save seeds back then and haven't found them in any local places. I saw another somewhere called Aztec Sun which I may have to track down. The orange is pretty though. The yellow was rather tall and luckily I stuck it in the back of the bed and at the time everything I had growing at the time sort of all supported each other if anyone tended to flop:LOL:

The main named varieties I found just looking around are:
Fiesta Del Sol
Sundance
Goldfinger
Torch
Aztec Sun and
Arcadian Blend at T&M which looks like a blend of all three colors, red/orange, orange and yellow.

I found Aztec Sun at seedsandmore, heirloomseeds.com and seed savers exchange. I'm glad I saw your post...I had forgotten how much I had liked this plant. I'm going to try the orange one too.

Great flowers, Tabasco! We grew some last season and really enjoyed them as a nice addition to the garden.

My Torch just started blooming yesterday. This is the second year that I've winter-sown them. I was never into orange until a few years ago when I seemed to have several orange bloomers - and Torch was one of them. I really enjoy the tithonia. I'll have to try some different ones.

:)
Dee

Great photo tab. - we don't get any swallowtails in town here, what is their host plant?

I don't mind Tithonia - haven't had any in a few years. I guess I stick to zinnias which are pretty similar.

Thanks for all the tips on seed sources--I was wondering about that yellow torch seed--maybe they changed the name to Aztec or ?.... I saw that tithonia was an AAS winner way back in 1952 and then again in 2000 something....must be a good plant but there doesn't seem to be much hibridizing going on with it....?

Common Swallowtail host plants include--Black Cherry, Birch, Poplar, Willow and a few others.

I was hoping others would post pics of their Mexican Sunflowers--mine doesn't seem to photograph well and I don't have it well-placed in the garden, either-- I should have planted some zinnias in front of it!

So this is a pic of two tithonias in a big pot (camoflaged in the sunny border). Now that I look at the pic the flowers look like two different colors of orange and I wonder if I have 2 kinds of tithonias in there. ..

I didn't wintersow them--I just put some seeds in the pot and started them that way....

Thanks tab. - none of those here unfortunately.

Tab, I'm not sure what I'm seeing in that photo -- 1 tithonia is orange, but is the other one red (or scarlet)? And is the flower on the stem sideways instead of facing up? That would be a very different one fromwhat I've ever grown.

Here is a pic of Fiesta Del Sol...a single plant I got out of a 1/2 package of pretty old seed. It's about 40" tall and about 36 inches wide, but getting wider. It has more flowers now, as this picture was taken Aug 1.

Well, your Fiesta del Sol looks 'much better grown' than my pot full! You have loads of blooms on that! The monarchs must be in heaven!

Yes, in the pic my two look like two different colors--orange and red. I think one may be Fiesta del Sol (now that I see your pic) and the other maybe a 'runty' 'The Torch'. In real life they look color pretty much the same. That is a tithonia bloom from the pot in the thread lead-off photo. Most of my plants have to 'reach' for the sun (because of tree shade at different times of the day) so maybe that's why it has a long stem going sideways....

I was hoping someone was going to say that the hybridizers are working on some new colors and styles but I guess not....Al or MM--any ideas on this...?

When I sowed them I emptied two different old packets of tithonia--I recall 'the Torch' and 'Fiesta del Sol' as perhaps the names...one was supposed to be short and one tall, but they both look about the same height to me...

Another one--I hope it makes more blooms....and should have some nice zinnias or something planted in front of it. Next year I'll know better how to use it in the garden. Must have it--the monarchs are loving it...

I think I'm going to try some for next year. It's rated pretty hightly for low water situations and if next year is anything like this year, that would be the ideal plant for my front bed.

I didn't like the big ones when I grew them -- the flower to leaf ratio is too low. And you know what, Tab? The Monarchs prefer the taller dahlias (singles, Bishop's Children) to the Tithonia by something like 10 to 1. (A couple of them haven't turned in their surveys).

But the Zinnias top them all.

Suzy

At last! Something I can contribute too....

Some time ago "shoe gave me seeds for Tithonia....I failed to save any but had some left so I planted them this year....I LOVE them!!

I am going to try to save some seeds this year. Jo

Another.....

These pictures were made when they first started blooming....The flower bed is full of blooms now. Jo

I will definitely try 'The Bishop's Children', if for no other reason, than because of the name!

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=2100&account=none

On plant files some have reported they grow to 5 feet tall. Other sites say 18 to 24 inches. Do you think that depends on the quality of the mix you purchase? And are other dahlias butterfly magnets?

I went out to look at the tithonia today and I notice the tall "The Torch" is getting some buds on the side branches. Maybe it will be a little more prolific than I first thought... 3 monarchs on them then. I am giving it some Miracle Gro for Blooms in hopes of hyping it up!

Hi, roadrunner--so happy to have your tithonia photos here and good to know yours are blooming well.

Keep us posted on how they are doing in your summer heat, especially!

I don't know much about how to collect seeds but I will try to save some too.

"Shoe told me the way to save seeds is to dead head them after the petals fall off...then dry the "heads"....I have some drying in my window now...let's hope it works!!

Here is a picture of flowers just out side my fence...they are wild all over the place and just as pretty as the other sun flowers....Jo

Suzy,

"Surveys". LOL.

My working theory is that the Monarchs like the dahlias that grow in a certain height range. I didn't get any dahlias out of the package that were taller than 40", but I had some shorter. Sort of shorter... Some of them needed to be staked and are laying on the ground because I didn't stake them, and those are of no interest at all to them (and those dahlias will just freeze out, I am not saving the tubers from them or seed from them)

The Swallowtails couldn't care less about the dahlias, but I did see a Monarach run off a bee of some kind when it went for her flower, which I thought was interesting.

I also didn't know hummingbirds went for Zinnias. That really surprised me. Gotta have more Zinnias next year!

Suzy

Here is a picture of my tiths, I plant sunflowers in the back, the tiths just in front of that, then lots of zinnias. I always buy Torch seeds, but the Fiesta del Sols look bushier from Illoquin's picture, so maybe I'll try that next year. Mine only get a few hours of sun, I'm sure they'd do better if I got more sun in that area.

Amazing, cindy, that you can get your zinnias and sunflowers to grow so prettily in just a few hours of sun! (And I like your little stake on the sunflower, too!)

I saw the hummingbirds nectaring on the tithonias yesterday. Also monarchs and swallowtails and other BFs. (And the goldfinches are a riot to watch picking the seeds out of the verbenas and zinnias.)

I agree with your observations about butterflies choosing plants of a certain height. I think generally they go for the tallest flowers that have nectar to their liking. That may explain why the butterflies in our garden go for the verbena bonarienses nine out of ten times. It's pretty much the tallest and most prolific nectar flower. And the tithonias are popular, too.

Roadrunner--is that yellow flower a tithonia? Sometimes wildflowers are prettier than the cultivated varieties...I wonder why if they have yellow tiths in the wild, gardeners do not have more yellow choices for their flower beds...? It also looks like a good plant for xeriscaping. Do the butterflies like the yellow wild one, too?

I was hoping someone out there knew about the hybridizing program for tithonias. (If there is one.) It seems like a good plant that could benefit from 'tweaking'!

I have not planted dahlias (ever)--another flower that did not interest me before--but I will definitely get 'Bishop's Children' and perhaps a few others for next year. And the zinnia bug has really bitten me. They are an excellent combination with the tithonias.

Now I just have to cut down a few trees and get more sun!

All I can say about tithonia is -- love 'em, love 'em, love 'em!!! Such a beauty, never needs to be watered, not fussy about soil. If you dead-head, they just keep on blooming!! Also, a total butterfly magnet! I stumbled upon them in my reading and last year was my first great experience.

Tabasco....thank you so much for noticing my flowers.....

The little yellow ones are called Desert Sunflower....I am in the process of saving seeds and will be glad to share some with you later. Jo

I'm with Sandy...I love Tithonia...any color...any size. They do look great with Zinnias, and sunflowers and seem to scream "summer".

People used to grow them a lot in the past, but I don't see them much anymore. I do see them occassionally in nurseries, but they want $4.95 for ONE in a 4" pot...which is insane when you can buy the seed for a LOT cheaper.

More people should grow these!

JD...would you like some seeds? Jo

Sure !

OK, Mike...I see you're in the address exchange....I may wait until I get home so I can include some of the wild sunflower seeds with it...won't be gone but another week! Jo

Thanks, Jo.

I'll reimb. you for postage.
No Rush !

Don't even think of postage...people have sent me so much stuff that I just like to "pay it forward". Jo

if you insist ! LOL

bump...

New bump!

Evelyn, thanks for the bump. I had watched this thread from almost the beginning, because I grew tithonia just about that time. Have not had them since but bought a pack the other day and was going to get them started this week.

My pack is from Ferry-Morse and only says Tithonia, Mexican Sunflowers. No variety. Pack does say 3" orange flowers.

I haven't looked up yet but am hoping they are deer resistant. Any ideas ?

Thanks again for the bump,
Joy

Joy ~ I, too, hope to be growing them this year. I have seeds, but that area, "The Hot Bed", is full of weeds right now. We had snow last week and rain yesterday, so if the weather is wintry, I am not able to clear that bed.

I have been focusing on renovating my White Flower Border, and removing all the strawberries that were in there along with a million white violets. I had to dig a new border for them, putting the violets in front, but I know they will wander. I have left some of the violets under the white lilac, and I have no doubt that they will be all over the place.

Tithonia with orange flowers. I suppose that you can try to match it up to known varieties once they are grown to figure out what variety it is.

Thought you might enjoy these pics of a Tithonia. It literally stopped me in the street and I went up to a strangers door and asked if I could have some seeds. It was a good 8' tall and just charming. I also took a couple cuttings and now have a small plant. I think this was an all time high in Crazy Garden Lady behavior.

Arghh, I didn't post the pics!

Dee ~ Wow! That is really big! Isn't it fun being a "Crazy Garden Lady"?

Evelyn, sounds like you have beautiful gardens. I love white flowers mixed through mine. Datura pops up everywhere and it is wonderful to walk through in the evening with the glow from the big blossoms and the scent!.

I think today is the day to start the tithonia seeds as it is back in the mid 30's again here. I have a small greenhouse and had to turn the heat on last night. I ran out of room on my rack in the bedroom where I was keeping seedlings under lights so moved to the gh Sunday. Now I have room to start more seeds.

Dee that is quite the plant. Our daughter lives in AZ, Yuma, and is always teasing me this time of year with what she grows. I then tease her in a couple of months what I can grow while she is melting in the heat.

I can't decide which title I bear "Crazy Garden Lady" or "Crazy Cat Lady". I guess I am kinda proud of both.

Yes, I too have cats. They just turned one this month. At the cat shelter they were named Jack (found at Jack-in-the-box) and Minnie (She resembles Minnie Mouse). Anyway we renamed them Spencer and Kate. I also call them Thing 1 and Thing 2, Goofus and Gallant, Frick and Frack. I will never be a crazy cat lady, two are enough, they wake me at 7 in the morning by jumping on my head.
You guys have me thinking Tithonias, I'm looking at the nursery.