Ox Eye Sunflower

Heliopsis helianthoides

Origin: Eastern and Central North America

Improvement status: Wild

Seeds per packet: ~1,300

Germination tested 12/2023: 60%

Life cycle: Perennial

One of our favorite native sunflower species. Cheerful yellow blooms are prolific beginning in June and going through August. Perennial, but flowers the first year. Quite competitive, especially against annual weeds.

This seed was foraged by longtime EFN collaborator Dylan Bruce, of Circadian Organics Ferryville, WI.

GROWING TIPS: Cold and moist stratify for 30 days. Then it needs light, so it should be sown on the service directly where you intend to grow it, or on the the surface of a tray with potting soil, for eventual transplanting.