Helianthus debilis (beach sunflower) propagation~???

User

13 years ago

I had better luck with longer cuttings of the beach sunflower rooted in water, or just pinned to the ground and allowed to root there.

I've had no luck with "trying" to grow gaillardia seed, but if I just sprinkled them all over the yard, a bunch usually came up. It is too hot for them to germinate right now. Save them in the freezer, and spread them out in the winter. They'll come up in the spring. Winter sowing always works best with them for some reason.

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izharhaq

13 years ago

my two cents: Gaillardia are slow growing initially but will pick up the pace as they mature.. so dont worry :)

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Many Helianthus are deer resistant, so odds are good that H. debilis is also.

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I ripped out all of my grass last year and went with plants, flowers, and three different ground covers that all do well in full sun. I love all three, all are Florida natives and are much better than turf grass. I've had my bad experiences with "weedelia". Evil stuff. Beach or Dune Sunflower Pros: Extremely drought resistant, flowers almost all year, attracts insects, smothers weeds, grows fast, easy to trim. Cons: Will smother other plants. Expect it to grow outwards in a circle with a radius 10-15;. Sunshine Mimosa / Mimosa strigillosa Pros: Extremely drought resistant, flowers almost all year, attracts insects, smothers weeds, grows fast, tolerates foot traffic (but watch out for bees in the morning). This stuff is so tough it grows about a foot or so onto our driveway. Cons: Spreads, a lot. The runners are VERY tough to cut and trim. I have to trim it every month or so to keep it off the sidewalk. Porterweed / Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Pros: Fairly drought resistant, flowers almost all year (blooms gone by noon), attracts insects and butterflys, more contained (about a 5' radius). Cons: Can not walk on. Mine suffered significant frost burn, did not hurt plant, but it looked bad for about 4 months till the rains started. Of the three, I like the Dune Sunflower the best. It grows the fastest, so you will probably have to trim it. I do, but it is soft and easy to cut. Sunshine mimosa is the closest to grass. You can walk on it and mow it, but I worry that it would spread out of control. Pictures of the three:

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Propagation 'Flora Sun' beach sunflower should be propagated by cuttings. Take 4-inch stem cuttings any time of the year, and remove all but the two terminal leaves. Cuttings should readily root without any rooting compounds* in 2 to 3 weeks under intermittent mist in a shaded (30% light exclusion) greenhouse. During warmer times of the year, we use a misting frequency of 9 sec/2.5 min, with cooling fans (fan/pad system) set to run at 90Â°F. A propagation heating mat may be necessary during cooler times of the year to maintain rooting medium temperature at 70Â°F. Seed propagation is not recommended because 'Flora Sun' beach sunflower could hybridize with other sunflowers, resulting in seed-propagated plants with characteristics unlike those of 'Flora Sun'. from this web site : Here is a link that might be useful: Propagation and Container Production of 'Flora Sun' Beach Sunflower

Extreme Climate Winter Sowing......the HOT zones: 8, 9, and 10 (nati

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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10

13 years ago

I've had good success growing Beach sunflowers from seed. In fact, I often simply scatter the dry seedheads around the area where I want them to grow & they'll start that way - esp. during the rainy season. I think there may be more than 1 variety now - I've seen a shorter version w/ slightly smaller flowers in a neighbor's yard, which may be a hybrid.

For some reason, gaillardias have eluded me this year too - I had some scrounged seed (tall beautiful plants growing in front of a local store) that sprouted, but they all died. I'm guessing it was some sort of hybrid. When I planted seeds from the 'weeds' that you see everywhere around here a few years ago, they did fine - wish I'd kept saving that seed...

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imagardener2

13 years ago

Once you get a few gaillardia started you'll soon have baby plants popping up but not invasively IMO. I had some in pots sitting in my driveway and a few months later seedlings appeared 3' higher atop my neighbors wall. Luckily she likes them and has transplanted many plantlets in her yard. Just throw seeds where you want plants and water once a week, you'll have gaillardia.

I have never been able to start dune sunflower from seed or cuttings, that's one that I buy. They do send out a runner which will root and you can cut it apart from the mother plant for a new plant. Never happened for me because I mulch heavily to keep weeds down.

Denise

P.S. There are 2 dune sunflowers, east coast and west coast. One is taller than the other (can't remember which). I have both and cannot tell them apart after 2 years, both are between 1-3' tall.

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Helianthus debilis (beach sunflower) propagation~???

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izharhaq

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