False sunflower 'Summer Sun'
Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Sommersonne' · Asteraceae
Semi-double, golden-yellow daisies with a deeper centre, on a bushy, upright plant, for ten weeks or more.
- 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 Sun'
The planner designed this bed around false sunflower 'Summer Sun' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why false sunflower 'Summer Sun' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 16, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 7, white
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 3, blue
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' × 5, yellow
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 2, purple
- 8 Tulip 'Ballerina' × 3, orange
Why this plant
- The only daisies. The others are open bowls, bells, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- 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.
- Fills a gap. For five of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 7 groups (57%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' and false sunflower 'Summer Sun', the tallest plants on the plan. Low plants run along 100% of the front edge: silver sage, Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and winter heath.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. 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 Sun' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle 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 dependable yellow daisy for midsummer: it starts before the black-eyed Susans and overlaps them. Shorter and stiffer than the species, and it rarely needs staking.
- Long summer colour
- Cutting
- Butterflies
What to plant with false sunflower 'Summer Sun'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Garden phlox: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for eight weeks.
- Bee balm: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for six weeks.
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': in flower together for five weeks, from early August; tall enough (5½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about false sunflower 'Summer Sun'
Does false sunflower 'Summer Sun' need sun or shade?
False sunflower 'Summer Sun' 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 Sun' 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 Sun' 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 Sun' 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 (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many false sunflower 'Summer Sun' 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 Sun' 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 Sun'?
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.
What flowers after false sunflower 'Summer Sun'?
False sunflower 'Summer Sun' 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 Sun' look like in winter?
False sunflower 'Summer Sun' 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 Sun' good for bees and butterflies?
False sunflower 'Summer Sun' 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 Nights' Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Summer Nights'
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
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 (100 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
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to early September; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- 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.