I’ve had off-and-on luck with heliopsis helianthoides (false sunflower) plants over the years. They usually flower like crazy the first year but then grow and bloom sparingly for the next couple of years until they disappear entirely and I forget they were ever in my flowerbed.
This year I’m tempted to try a new cultivar called ‘Sunstruck’. It promises a long blooming season, and the plants are hardy in Zones 4-9.
The large, sunny yellow flowers appear on 14-to-16-inch plants, and the leaves are variegated in shades of green and silver. I must admit that when I first saw the leaves I thought they were suffering from chlorosis.
I spotted ‘Sunstruck’ growing in a test garden and was impressed by the number of flowers bursting forth from such compact plant. If it lives up to its promises, this cultivar will make an impressive front-of-the-border plant.
False sunflowers grow best in well-drained soil in full sun.