I do adore the tithonia (Mexican Sunflowers). They are the biggest attraction in our gardens. Mine reseeded from last year and they are all over!! I've had to give many away.
Caroline

I planted these in with some other "taller" sunflowers of a mixed variety. They are just nos starting to bloom and propbably would have done better by themselves in a pot. The heat is taking a toll on the sunflowers in general. Haven't seen a butterfly around any of them, just lots of bees!

Beautiful, Miss Sherry. I can vouch for the tithonias. My butterflies adore them. Particularly the Monarchs when they are migrating.

That's a beautiful picture Sherry. I'll have to try growing those. It's not too late to start them from seed-I've still got til sometime in October to grow them.
Robin

MissSherry the Eastern Tigers really love tithonia.

The vivid orange of the flowers makes a great contrast to the butterflies.

Is that a PVS in your beautiful picture?

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Tithonia will definitely be one I'll replant next year! I'm going to plant rue where the Russian sage is now growing and probably where the duranta is also - I know butterflies love duranta in some parts of the country, but apparently not here.
Yes, Mary Ann, it's a male pipevine swallowtail - I know you're surprised! :) Looking at my picture, I can see the individual flowers in the big flower head in the one that's spent to the right of the PVS - interesting!
That tiger is gorgeous - her black bars are so thick! I got a visit from a female tiger like that once -
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MissSherry

I have planted the Russian Sage to attract hummingbirds. The BF's don't seem to even look at it. My Zinnia's are a hit. Some look just like your flowers you are growing. The Hummer's will come to the Russian Sage often. My biggest flower that attracts BF's is Homestead Purple Verbena. The BST's are all over it. Is it a host plant by chance?
Leubafr

As far as I know, verbena isn't a host for anything, Mary, although I guess generalist moths might lay eggs on it.
MissSherry

It keeps drawing butterflies -
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MissSherry

Now, I really want one of the beautiful Giants!

I love the way the body is yellow!

You have some beautiful pictures there, MissSherry!

I planted some old Tithonia seed this year, but it didn't germinate. It is definitely on next year's list!

As I was leaving for work Wednesday, I saw a Black Swallowtail visiting one of my red sunflowers. - Arlan

MissSherry,

You have outdone yourself this year with some wonderful pictures here and on the gallery. If some of you haven't visited the gallery recently. I urge you to do so. We have some real artists posting pictures on this forum.

mike

Porterweed is new in my garden this year. It's a hit.
They compete for the blue.
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The red is popular, too, with salvia coccinea.
I'm pulling the Black Eyed Susans where they crowd the nectar plants.
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Nell

I love your pictures, Nell! It does look like the GFs lined up in a row!
I see you've got pipevine swallowtails - do you raise them yourself, or did those just drop by?
MissSherry

They just drop by. I think they actually live here. I'm in a rural area where there's enough room for them to avoid fields where spraying goes on.

There's a crowd that prefers the blue porterweed/marigold combo, another group that hangs around the pentas/zinnias/red porterweed/salvia coccinea area and yet another than nectars on Laura Bush petunias.

Nell

They're still bringin' 'em in!
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MissSherry

Those are great butterflies on what seems to be a great butterfly plant! I planted some old tithonia seed earlier this year , but not one came up. Is it particularly sensitive this way? If I find some fresher seed and plant it now, will it still have time to be effective this fall? - Arlan

I imagine that it would, especially is you give them good rich soil and keep them moist but not soggy - the growing season goes on until at least October. I got my seeds at Walmart, but I got them early this spring, so I don't know if they still have any or not. I'm going to try and save my own seed for next year.
About a ?month ago I scattered seeds in an area of my garden, and quite a few have come up. I kept the area moist in this dry weather. I think that's important, because in intense heat, they droop if they haven't had any rain or watering the previous day or two. I have mine in raised beds, so that probably makes a difference - if they were planted at ground level, they'd retain moisture for longer. They're about 1' high now. The one in the picture is about 5 1/2' tall and still growing.
MissSherry

Thanks, MissSherry! I think I may try some again yet this year.....along with some more tall single zinnias. I have very sandy soil that is a challenge to keep moist for direct sown seed. I sometimes have better luck starting my seeds in trays in the shade and then transplanting them to the final site after some gradual acclimation to the more intense sun.

Hi MIssSherry et al! Enjoying the gorgeous photos on this post from last summer... getting very antsy for warmer weather!!!

I just bought some tithonia seed, I believe it's the tall variety. Wondering if full sun would be too much, does it need staking, how tall does this usually get? Packet says 4-6 feet.

I'm thinking of planting it along a fence that would get late morning/early afternoon sun... a buddleia grows there nicely already.

TIA!

Sandy

I've never grown the tall type, Sandy, but my "short" ones grew about 6' tall and about 4' wide. One of the things I liked about them most was that they didn't need staking - the trunk is strong, almost tree like. I think you definitely need to put them in full sun in Illinois for them to thrive - I had mine in nearly full sun down here.
Mexican sunflowers were about as close to being a flower machine that attracts butterflies like crazy as anything I've ever planted - only lantana and butterfly bush compare.
MissSherry

Sherry, Beautiful pictures! Now I'm even more glad that I bought a pack of Tithonia seeds. I remember people were talking about it a little while ago and so that was on my 'want' list.
Cathy

I have some native stuff I think is the yellow Mexican sunflower. I see a lot of different insects and quite a few different butterflies working the blooms. This is one of my favorite photos from them. A honey bee that really gets into his work. Clickable thumb
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I leave a small patch of it unmowed on the edge of our property each year. Last year was the first year I had to water or they would have died. Droughts stink :-)

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randy

Did some web searching and I'm pretty sure my plants are Helianthus maximiliani and not Tithonia Rotundifolia. The leaves were wrong.

randy

Randy, I think that is some kind of native helianthus or silphium. Tithonia is an annual, and I don't know that it reseeds - MissSherry? I've never had any reseed.

After looking at the photos, I think it is silphium laciniatum. Check this link out to see if this resembles your plants.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Silphium lacianatum

Hi Susan

I'm fairly sure it's this plant in the link below.

randy

Here is a link that might be useful: Maximilian Sunflower

It's gorgeous, whatever it is!
I love that picture - the bee is covered in pollen! :)
MissSherry

Randy, I wish more sites on plant ID had such awesome pictures. So many of them look more like the little thumbnail of the grouping of plants you posted, it's just not funny! :s

Gorgeous, Randy. Great capture, and good call on the Id.

Just watched Mike Cronin's Butterfly Sanctuary video (thanks for passing it on, Carol! :) and OH MY! He had some TIthonia that were HUUUUGE!!! Maybe 8 feet?? Wowee.

Awesome photo Randy!!!

I grew the taller variety (Torch?) a few years ago and in my fairly moist and rich soil, they got HUGE..like out of control huge. At least 6' tall and with thick stems and they enveloped everything around them. Unfortunately they flopped right over so I had to try to stake them but it was tough because they were so heavy...lots of branches.

So I have been growing the shorter variety (Fiesta del Sol) for the past year or two and they are a much more suitable size. Love 'em!