Scientific Name: Tithonia rotundifolia
Light: Full Sun
Zone: 2 to 11
Height: 4 to 6 feet
Width: 2 to 3 feet
Flowers: July to September; Orange-red with yellow center disk
Fruit/Seed: Summer to Fall
Butterflies: This nectar plant also attracts monarchs, eastern tiger swallowtails, fritillaries, painted lady butterflies, pipevine swallowtails, skippers, spicebush swallowtails, sulphurs, and more…
Birds: Eat seeds
Deer Resistant: Yes
Insects/Pollinators: Attracts beneficial insects such as hover flies, minute pirate bugs, and butterflies.
Native: No. Native to Mexico and Central America
Propagation: Sow indoors from St. Patrick’s Day thru the first of April in Carroll County. Keep at 70-75°F and provide light. Seed should geminate in 5-8 days at 64-72 °F. Grow on at 53-59 °F . Tithonia does not tolerate temperatures below 49 °F even for short periods of time. Tithonia may also be directly sown after Mother’s Day but it will not blossom until very late summer.
Tithonia is attractive as a hedge or specimen at the back of the garden as well as being valuable in cutting gardens. Deer resistant, it attracts pollinators and then birds to harvest the seeds. Easy-care, provide stakes in windy areas and deadhead.
Cultivars / Varieties
- ‘Fiesta del Sol’ – is a shorter cultivar that only grows about 3 feet tall. It was an All-American Selection award winner in 2000.
- ‘Goldfinger’ – A short variety (2-2.5 feet tall) better suited to small gardens with orange-gold flowers.
- ‘Torch’ – 4 feet; the most commonly offered cultivar, winning an All-American Selection award in 1951.
- ‘Yellow Torch’ – has apricot yellow-orange flowers.
Tithonia rotundifolia – Missouri Botanical Garden
Mexican Sunflower – University of Wisconsin-Madison Master Gardener Program
Tithonia – Fine Gardening
Recommended for Wildlife by
Butterfly Gardening in the DC Area – Washington Butterfly Club
Bring Home The Butterflies Vol. I: How to Attract More Monarchs to your Butterfly Garden…and Keep Them There! by Tony Gomez