Stiff Sunflower

Perennial  •  $6, 4-inch pot

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Height	3 to 5 ft
Spacing	2 ft
Sun Exposure	Full Sun
Soil Moisture	Medium-Dry to Dry
Bloom Color	Yellow
Bloom Time	July – Sept
Companion Plantings	Purple Coneflower, Prairie Blazing Star, Rattlesnake Master
Special Attributes

Helianthus pauciflorus

This perennial sunflower boasts 2 to 3-inch bright yellow blooms that draw nearly every type of bee, as well as butterflies and skippers. Stiff Sunflower does best in medium-dry sites in full sun but can adapt to part sun and average garden conditions if necessary. Helianthus spp. are wildlife powerhouses and support nearly 70 caterpillar species in the Kentuckiana region as a host plant. Many types of birds also feed on the nutritious seeds, including many sparrows, the Tufted Titmouse, Black-Capped Chickadee, Goldfinch, American Crow, Red-Winged Blackbird, and Mourning Dove, among a handful of others. Small mammals and even deer will also feed on the seeds and other parts of this plant.

As with most of our native perennial sunflowers, Stiff Sunflower can be a bit aggressive and is not suitable for smaller garden beds. This is one of the first native Helianthus species to bloom. Other common names include Showy Sunflower and Prairie Sunflower; another now-obsolete scientific name is Helianthus rigidus. Stiff Sunflower has a couple subspecies and some characteristics (such as the number of ray petals) can be variable, making identification sometimes difficult. The species epithet means “few flowered,” in reference to the sometimes sparse blooms during the flowering period.

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