Editor’s note: Once a month, OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers in Franklin County profile a plant that occurs naturally in Central Ohio.
Providing brilliant mid-summer color, the Heliopsis helianthoides is a beautiful addition to a sunny garden! Also known as an oxeye or false sunflower, it is an easy-to-grow perennial that flourishes in moist, well-drained soil in full sun, and can thrive in heavy clay soils. That said, it will also grow in loam and sandy soils and tough summer heat, even tolerating drought and partial shade.
The stems are light green to reddish-green and slightly angular. Pairs of medium to dark green leaves are distributed evenly along these stems. The stem is rough to the touch and may contain a single flower head or be branched at the apex into multiple stems with several flowers.
Native plant:Wild senna easy-to-grow, low-maintenance for home gardens
Each flower consists of eight to 20 deep-yellow rays that are oblong and slightly notched at their tips. These rays surround a cone-shaped golden-yellow to orange-yellow disk. Flowers are typically 2-4 inches in diameter. Deadheading spent flowers will promote new blossoms and lengthen bloom time.
Blooming from June to October, the oxeye sunflower provides long summer bloom. The ground-nesting bee (Holcopasites heliopsis) is a specialist pollinator, instrumental to the fertilization process, which produces viable seeds. Oxeye sunflower flowers are attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, while its seed may be eaten by songbirds. The stems provide winter cover for beneficial insects as well.
As plants range in height from 3-6 feet, staking or supporting taller plants may be needed. If a shorter plant is desired, trimming in late spring is recommended, though this will delay blooms.Get the Evening Update newsletter in your inbox.
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Native plant:Early-blooming yellow wood poppy adds spring color
The oxeye sunflower is an excellent choice for perennial garden beds and borders, where their dazzling flowers work with any color scheme. They are also perfectly suited for cutting and container gardens, as well as prairies and meadows.
Adding Heliopsis helianthoides to your garden will bring brightness to your site and will not leave you disappointed!
Growing conditions
Hardiness Zones: 3-9
Sun: prefers full sun but tolerates partial shade.
Water: dry to moist, well-drained soil.
Soil: tolerates a wide range of soils, including poor, dry, and clay
Maintenance: low
Propagation: easily propagated by seed in fall or early spring. Large clumps of oxeye can be divided, but it is difficult.
Pests and diseases: no serious insect or disease problems, though has some susceptibility to aphids
