Scientific: Tithonia diversifolia
Common: Mexican sunflower, tree marigold, Mexican tournesol, Bolivian sunflower
Family: Asteraceae
Origin: Eastern Mexico and central America (naturalized pan-tropically around the world).
Pronounciation: Ti-THON-ee-a die-ver-sa-FO-lee-a
Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9-11
Landscape Use: Mexican sun flower is a great warm season accent plant for a large garden border.
Form & Character: Irregularly rounded, but with enough control to not call it sprawling, bright and cheerful, semi-tropical.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, mostly herbaceous, short-lived broadleaf perennial, upright and sprawling to 5-feet tall with an equal or greater spread.
Foliage/Texture: Large bright green leaves with 2 to 4 deep clefts, margins with a dull serration, 3 prominent leaf veins; medium texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Perfect ray flowers of generally 15 petals grown profusely on short peduncles of less than a few inches long; fruits are a cypsela, brown, unattractive.
Seasonal Color: Golden yellow flowser blooms throughout most of the year, more heavily
in spring and fall.
Temperature: Freeze intolerant, also struggles is air temperatures are above 110oF.
Light: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant, except needs good drainage.
Watering: In Phoenix, irrigate frequently and deeply especially during summer to maintain robust
appearance.
Pruning: Lightly head back in the summer or fall to re-stimulate flowering.
Propagation: Seed
Disease and Pests: None
Additional comments: Mexican sun flower is a bright and cheerful herbaceous shrub for a large, informal flower border. Mexican sunflower attracts bees, butterflies and/or birds.
