Prairie Sunflower
Helianthus petiolaris
Prairie sunflower is a fast annual of sandy plains and dunes, bearing small classic sunflowers all summer and abundant seed for birds. Reseeds readily, quickly colonizing open, dry, disturbed ground.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- forb
- Lifespan
- annual
- Height
- 1–5 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline, acidic
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~58 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- AZ, CA, CO, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, UT, WI, WY