False sunflower 'Summer Nights'
Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Summer Nights' · Asteraceae
Single golden daisies with a mahogany-red centre, on dark purple-red stems, above leaves tinged with purple.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around false sunflower 'Summer Nights'
The planner designed this bed around false sunflower 'Summer Nights' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why false sunflower 'Summer Nights' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 21, pink
- 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 6, white
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 5, tan
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Yarrow × 3, yellow
- 7 Spring starflower × 10, blue
- 8 Star of Persia × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only medium leaves here. The rest are fine. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to dwarf English boxwood (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 11 weeks. From late June to early September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and yarrow in late June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 30 of the 39 plants (77%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' repeats along the bed to tie it together. The front edge is finished with heath aster 'Snow Flurry' and Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies'.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where false sunflower 'Summer Nights' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The dark stems and red eye lift this well above the plain yellow kinds, and connect it to purple-leaved neighbours. It seeds, and the seedlings keep the dark colouring.
- Dark stems in a hot border
- Naturalistic planting
- Cutting
What to plant with false sunflower 'Summer Nights'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Purple coneflower: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for 11 weeks.
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe': in flower together for seven weeks, from late July; bold leaves against its medium ones.
Questions about false sunflower 'Summer Nights'
Does false sunflower 'Summer Nights' need sun or shade?
False sunflower 'Summer Nights' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does false sunflower 'Summer Nights' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does false sunflower 'Summer Nights' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Early July to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early July to early September |
| Zone 5 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to early September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should false sunflower 'Summer Nights' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many false sunflower 'Summer Nights' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is false sunflower 'Summer Nights' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat false sunflower 'Summer Nights'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will false sunflower 'Summer Nights' spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds around the parent. Seedlings are easily pulled.
What flowers after false sunflower 'Summer Nights'?
False sunflower 'Summer Nights' is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Blue mistflower: from late August to mid October, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Montauk daisy: from mid September to late October, 3 ft tall.
What does false sunflower 'Summer Nights' look like in winter?
False sunflower 'Summer Nights' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is false sunflower 'Summer Nights' good for bees and butterflies?
False sunflower 'Summer Nights' is visited by pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Heliopsis
- False sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides
- False sunflower 'Summer Sun' Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Sommersonne'
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to early September; daisies; yellow, orange
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green, purple
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- SE Canada, and the North Central and Eastern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, heat, poor soil, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.