How to Grow Mexican Sunflower

Tithonia Germination Information

Tithonia is the botanical name for Mexican Sunflower
How to Sow Tithonia:

• Best sown outdoors after all danger of frost is past in the spring
• Seeds can also be sown indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost at a temperature of 65-80°
• Expect germination in 5-10 days
• Indoors and out, sow without cover as light aids in germination
• When sowing seed outdoors, we recommend a maximum planting depth of 4X the width of the seed

How to Grow Tithonia:
Transplanting: Transplant when there are at least two sets of true leaves

Spacing: Space 2 feet apart in full sun to partial shade in the afternoon

Soil: Site in a rich, moist, well-drained garden soil and feed with a slow release fertilizer

Additional Care: Deadhead to prolong the flower display. Staking of these large, fast-growing plants may be necessary. It is very heat and drought resistant; good drainage is a requisite

Appearance and Use:

A vigorous annual for use in the back of the border and for summertime screening purposes as backgrounds, backdrops, and temporary hedges. Flowers cut well for fresh use. This large, from 4-8 feet tall, coarse, shrubby annual, is clothed in 12 inch, triangular, gray-green, velvety leaves. In the high heat of mid-summer to early fall the plants are covered in 3 inch diameter flowers that resemble the single-petaled forms of Dahlia. While both the disk and the ray florets are orange-red, the disk florets are lighter than the ray florets. These flowers are attractive to butterflies

About Tithonia:
Pronunciation:  ti-tho’ne-å ro-tun-di-fo’le-å
Lifecycle:  Annual
Origination: Asteraceae, native to Mexico and Central America
Common Name: Mexican Sunflower