I am in love with Helianthus Summer Lovin! Basically the dark centres are ringed by melted-butter colour petals. And then each petal has maroon colouring mid-petal. Put it all together, impossible as it seems at first glance, you see the dark brown, a halo of creaminess, a circle of maroon shades and then another halo from those buttery petal tips. So yes, I love them. I think you will too.
🌸 Flowering: July to September
📏 Height: to 180cm
🌿 Annual
Sow: start indoors in February or March in individual pots or modules, about 1cm deep, at around 20°C. Germination usually takes 1–2 weeks. In milder areas, you can also sow outdoors in April, either in pots or direct where they’re to flower.
Grow: harden off and plant out once frosts have passed, spacing them 40-50cm apart. They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. Water regularly while young and during dry spells, particularly while plants are growing rapidly and developing buds. You may need to stake them if you have a windy garden.
Enjoy: all that gorgeous colour, but somehow they still manage not to be shouty show-offs!
🏡 In your garden
• Prairie and meadow gardens
• Cottage and informal gardens
• Cutting gardens
• Flower borders and beds
• Wildlife and pollinator plantings
• Vegetable gardens
✂️ Cut flower
• Cut flowers just as the petals begin to unfurl, but before they are fully open
• Our top tip for Summer Lovin: cut above a leaf node. This encourages additional side blooms for more to enjoy.
• Strip all but a few leaves nearest to the flower head
• Trim the stems at an angle
• Pop them into your collecting bucket of warm water and let them sit there for several hours, in a cool and shady place, to condition before arranging
• Change the vase water regularly and retrim the stems to help them drink
• Fresh vase life of 5 to 14 days
🐝 Pollinator friendly
• RHS Plants for Pollinators recommended
• The pollen-rich flower heads attract visiting bees
🐞 Wildlife friendly
• Seeds provide autumn foraging for a variety of birds
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