Perennial Sunflower: This One’s a Great Cutting Flower
(Helianthus multiflorus ‘Flore Pleno’)
A surprising find, ‘Flore Pleno’ is a full, sunny yellow, perennial flower that lasts super long in the vase—at least two weeks. I don’t know why it’s not in nurseries, but it’s okay with me if we keep it as our little secret. It’s so nice to have a few flowers that are easy to grow, yet no one else knows about them!
Perennial sunflowers bloom in mid to late summer on sturdy stems and a slowly spreading plant…so you’ll get more and more flowers each year.
There are many other perennial sunflowers, but this one has an elegance beyond all the others.
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Perennial sunflower flowers and plants
The flowers resemble chrysanthemums with many rows of petals and are up to 4” wide with long sturdy stems. They bloom by the fourth of July where I am in the northern Sierras of California.
The flowers last well, up to two weeks. I once had a bouquet made with them that ran out of water for a few days, and I saw no wilting at all! But don’t count on that.
The plants get 4-6 ft. tall. They can make a nice summer hedge after a few years.
They’re deciduous herbaceous perennials, which means they die back to the ground in the winter. But you’ll be able to see the green shoots growing outward through the soil in the winter, expanding the plant.
How to grow these perennial sunflowers
Zones 4-8; Sun: Full sun for best flowering; Water: average
Start these as plants, they’re not available as seeds because they’ll be a genetic toss-up so you won’t know what the flowers would be like. Since they form a clump that spreads out with rhizomatous shoots just below the soil surface, you’ll be able to start new plants each year from the rhizomatous shoots. Or wait until there’s a larger clump and divide bigger sections. Either way you can start with one or two plants, get some nice flowers and divide them from there.
Mulch them to conserve water. Keep them deadheaded for continuous flowering.
How to harvest perennial sunflowers
Cut and treat these in the usual way. The stems are long and should be cut down to a node for good rebloom. Cutting lower on the stem gives longer stems for the next flowers.
Favorite varieties
The other perennial sunflowers have a wilder quality and are used in landscapes and pollinator gardens, but also can be used for cutting flowers. ‘Flore Pleno’ has a unique and excellent quality entirely different from the others.
Sources for perennial sunflowers
Bluestone Perennials: This is how I found this wonderful plant!
It was offered by a wonderful nursery in Georgia, but due to the passing of it’s owners, it’s now closed.
Flowers to go with ‘Flore Pleno’ perennial sunflowers
Alstromerias
Easy growing, long-lasting cut flowers, these come in a wide range of colors for all bouquet styles.
