You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
i transplanted this from step mothers garden one year and they have spread like wild fire, in fact i have been weeding them out of other areas they have popped up unwantedly. it will have tons of small yellow flowers soon and one patch i have is approx 5+ feet in height.
she didnt know what they were called but said that someone told her they were nicknamed 'outhouse' flowers (though the only resources i find say that it is the nickname for hollyhocks...they are prone for mildew and unfortunately are currently coated with it...
I was leaning towards sunflower also, but it's hardy to only Zone 6, isn't it, and is seldom bothered by mildew. However, the
"wandering ways" of gardenof weeden's plant and the nickname makes it more likely Jerusalem Artichoke, for sure. What zone are you gardenofweeden?
It looks like what they call Golden Glow around here, a double flower that blooms in September. I don't think, if it's like mine that it's Jerusalem artichoke as the flower is quite double. I do hope we find out what it is!
i live in maine so zones 4/5 i think. i looked up the jerusalum artichoke and im not so sure thats it...the leaves are not so sunflowerish and the roots dont appear large enough to be edible- i wouldnt think... i will try to post a pic of the roots and leaves closer-up - i wish the flowers would hurry up and open so i can post those.
it gets mildew each of the 3 years ive had it here, this is the first year ive had lilacs and its spread onto those. before i had i had a pumpkin plant in this spot and it also got the mildew. not a good spot i guess.
anyway...heres a root pic: (my cat Mason thinks they are pretty fun to attack)
It is certainly a perennial sunflower. If it's not H. tuberosus, it could be Helianthus strumosus or Helianthus divaricatus, both of which are often called 'woodland sunflower'. All three species occur in Maine. All three also interbreed with each other (especially H. strumosus and H. divaricatus), so it might be pretty difficult to figure out exactly which species it is.
I don't think it is H. laetiflorus (new name is H. pauciflorus). That plant has 'naked' or near-naked flowering stems, meaning that there are no leaves (or a least greatly reduced leaves) on the stem for a foot or so below the flowers.
Great Observation, KS!
I believe you are on to something about the species interbreeding.
Most likely it will be pretty difficult to figure out the species.
Yeah, Prairie Moon Nursery even sells what they call Woodland Sunflower Mix as they apparently have basically given up trying to separate H. strumosus from H. divaricatus, at least in their part of the country. Here is the quote from their website:
"This seed is a mixture of Helianthus divaricatus (Woodland Sunflower) and Helianthus strumosus (Pale-leaved Sunflower). We find that these two Sunflower species are virtually indistinguishable from each other and are hybridizing in nature."
They do sell seed from both H. strumosus and H. divaricatus as well, but I am guessing they get the seed from some place where the species are more easily separated. For example, H. strumosus grows around here, but H. divaricatus does not which makes life a little easier.
