Does anybody know what this flower is?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

YSTERY FLOWER.....I would like to put this letter in the readers' letters in the hopes of finding some of these flowers that were so lovely.

When we lived in Florida I was given some seeds of a lovely yellow flower that was a perennial and bloomed at Thanksgiving time. I always had a large bouquet for our Thanksgiving decoration. It had lobed rather rough leaves, grew about 6-8 feet tall and the flowers were about 8 inches across with the center about 2". It had about l3 petals. The center turned into a rather prickly seed head with no discernible seeds. I would just crush it and plant the whole thing. I thought I had saved some seeds when we moved but they must have been lost. The new owners completely redid the landscaping

-- rita Glyn-jones (felfoot@twlakes.net), February 22, 2001

Answers

Greetings from Kansas, the Sunflower State.

What you are describing sounds a lot like a variety of sunflower. However they are annuals.

For anyone that hasn't in recent years checked out all of the sunflower varieties available, there are a bunch of them from pale yellows to reds. Dwarfs to tall ones. Might be worth a look if you need a tough plant.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), February 22, 2001.


Sounds like you are describing Maximillian sunflower.It can be started from seed but also spreads by underground runners.Beautiful, hardy,and comes back year after year but it can be invasive.Our flowers were only 4-5 inches across.Everything else fits.

-- JT Florida (gone2seed@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.

Possibly a member of the coreopsis family?

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 23, 2001.

Yep, sounds like the Maximillian sunflower. We have them here in Texas at that time of year. The blooms sprout from up and down the main stalk unlike other sunflowers which are at the top and ends of big stems or whatever.

-- Joe (jcole@apha.com), February 23, 2001.

Here's a clump of Maximillian Sunflowers:

Is that your mystery flower? From your description, it does sound like them except the individual blooms on the Maximillian Sunflowers around here don't get any bigger than about 4" across. When you planted the seeds, did they sprout and bloom in the same year (one year)? If so, I'd say it wasn't a perennial as most perennials take atleast two years from seed to bloom and a couple more years to reach their full mature height.

Anything else you can tell us about it? I love helping solve mysteries!

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 23, 2001.



Thanks so much to the folks that answered my request to locate seeds of my "mystery flower". We have a photo of the flowers but not a scanner. The Maximilion sunflower is the closest but much smaller and from the picture looks like it has a dark center. The one I'm looking for is the same color center and petals. It is definitely perennial I only started more plants to give away. Part of my original message was left out. They bloomed at Thanksgiving time in FL and three blossoms would make a huge arrangement that I used each Thanks. for decorations. I just loved them!!! Thanks again.

-- Rita Glyn-Jones (Felfoot@twlakes.net), February 23, 2001.

C:\Picture 2.jpg;Hi.Hereis a picture of the flower.Ihope you can see it! My husband thouhgt this might work!!

-- Rita Glyn-Jones (felfoot@twlakes.net), February 23, 2001.

Wingnut, how did you post this picture to the forum. I've often wanted to do that but didn't know how.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), February 23, 2001.

Here's Rita's picture:

Sure does look like a sunflower to me. Does anyone know what kind? Is there another perennial sunflower that looks like that? If so, I don't know about it, but would love to grow it!

Colleen, go here for instructions on how to post a pic and a link in a post. Doing it takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy and fun.

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 25, 2001.


Rita, could this possibly be a Gerbera Daisy and not a sunflower? They are perennial in the south, annuals in the north. The picture certainly looks like one to me. In Florida they grow much taller than in the north and colors range from yellow to red. Peak bloom is late fall in the south. They can be purchased in pots in the north but as I said, they are annuals and do not grow as tall in the north. There is also a Helianthus sunflower that is a perennial and is yellow, grows about 3 1/2 ft. high and blooms in Aug. and Sept.

-- bwilliams (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), February 25, 2001.


It could be a Gerber Daisy or possibly a flower called Cremon. They have them at the florist shop in town and they are a favorite of mine. Large in size and center is the same as the petals. Boy, now i am curious!

-- Shau Marie (shau@centurytel.net), February 25, 2001.

Well, Rita, I just did a websearch for "perennial sunflower" and came up with LOTS of hits! Seems that, contrary to popular belief, most sunflowers are perennials! Helianthus annua (or annuas?) are the giant annual varieties and there are MANY other kinds than just those.

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 26, 2001.

Hello Linda and others! I'm learning a lot. Didn't know sunflowers could be perennials. Linda, I can see you are good at "digging" for info. My husband is better at that than I am. I give up too soon, however, I am going to look up helianthus, perennial sunflowers and cremons. I have never seen a sunflower that didn't have large, edible seeds though and mystery flower had no seeds that I could see with the naked eye. As I said I would just smash the dried prickly center and plant. My daughter had some and also moved here to Tennessee and didn't bring any and others that had them have moved, died, or I can't remember their names such as the one I got them from originally. Thanks again. Still hoping for some seeds! Rita

-- Rita Glyn-Jones (Felfoot@twlakes.net), February 26, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ