Tithonia – An Old Fashion Flower You Only Buy Once
Henry Mitchell wrote about Tithonia; you can’t really see the flowers in the summer because it gets so tall but after autumn rains, after a hurricane wind, it falls over, lays on the ground and you can finally enjoy the flowers. I love him.
Tithonia, in the picture below, seeds itself in every year, grows to about 10 feet and attracts tons of butterflies. Then, it flops over onto the drive way and looks great. (Full disclosure; I clipped off most of the part that people run over.)
Mexican Sunflower and Sugarbear
Love, love, love tithonia! Love the “small” ones; love the “tall” ones. Ned Rahn gave me a branch of T. diversifolia that he cut off his 15 foot tree last December – the branch was nearly an inch thick – which I cut into six segments and rooted. Carried the cuttings over winter and planted them in the spring – plus sharing with friends. For Ned in Beaufort, the plant can be perennial. I kinda doubt they’ll be perennial here in Barnwell County, but if I do cuttings each fall (like I do for my Hibiscus acetosella), then I should have them vigorously growing by spring planting time. Not to mention the seeds! Love, love, love Tithonia!
Will, that one was perennial for me in the midlands but it didn’t flower until about mid-November!