Scientific Name: Helianthus maximiliani
Common Name: Maximilian sunflower
Native Range: Missouri and Texas to southern Canada
Zone: 4 to 9
Plant type & Form: Herbaceous perennial
Height: 3.00 to 10.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: August to September
Bloom Description: Yellow rays with darker yellow center disk
Flower: 2-3” diameter sunflowers with yellow rays and darker yellow center disks
Fruit: Seeds in center
Leaf: rough, narrow, tapered, grayish-green leaves (3-6” long), frequently folded lengthwise
Sun: Full
Water: Dry to medium
Soil type & pH: Tolerates a wide range of soils, including poor sandy soils, humus-y loams and clays.
Maintenance: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Suggested Use: Sunny borders, wild or native plant gardens, cottage gardens, naturalized areas, meadows or prairies.
Tolerates: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Notes: May self-seed
Identification notes: Look for height and flower
The ray and disk flowers are about the same shade of yellow and the involucral bracts are narrow.
The stem leaves are distinctive in arcing outward or downward and tending to be folded along the midrib.
The stem leaves are distinctive in arcing outward or downward and tending to be folded along the midrib.