prairie wildflower

Common Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Also known as Annual Sunflower

Native to the Pacific Coast, the Southwest, and the Great Plains and southern Canada

Manitoba and Minnesota to Texas and westward; naturalized to the Atlantic

Light Full sun Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry Moisture preference
Zones 3–11 Cold to heat range
Bloom Mar–Nov Flowering time
Height
Life cycle Annual Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun and lean, dry soil. Its yellow flowers peak in August. Hardy in USDA zones 3–11.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The Common Sunflower's yellow flowers bloom March to November, peaking in August. This late-summer display draws bees and butterflies.

Common Sunflower blooms yellowFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +349 more
Two-spotted Bumble Bee, American Bumble Bee, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Longhorn Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, European Woolcarder Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Black-and-gold Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Tripartite Sweat Bee, Agapostemon texanus, California Bumble Bee, Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Northern Amber Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Nevada Bumble Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Western Carpenter Bee, Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Sculptured Resin Bee, Oblong Woolcarder Bee, Golden Sweat Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Confusing Furrow Bee, Nearctic Bumble Bee, Western Leafcutter Bee, Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee, Yellowish Cuckoo Bumble bee, Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Dark-veined Longhorn Bee, broad-handed leafcutter bee, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, Wide-striped Sweat Bee, Eastern Thistle Longhorn Bee, Pugnacious Leafcutter Bee, White-shouldered Bumble Bee, Western Bumble Bee, Texas Leafcutter Bee, Van Dyke's Bumble Bee, Unarmed Leafcutter Bee, Lucorum-group Bumble Bees, Cryptic Bumble Bee, Parallel Leafcutter Bee, Morrison's Bumble Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Curved Pebble Bee, Slender-faced Masked Bee, Sunflower Mining Bee, Golden-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Spotted Woolcarder, Patchwork Leafcutter Bee, Squash Longhorn-Cuckoo, Punctate Masked Bee, Megachile apicalis, Angeles Striped Sweat Bee, Agile Longhorn Bee, Dark-faced Longhorn Bee, Annulate Masked Bee, Ceratina dupla, Southeastern Sunflower Burrowing-Resin Bee, Hairy masked Bee, ground cherry sweat bee, Megachile inimica sayi, Swenk's Fairy Bee, Experienced Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum nitidiusculum, Golden-tailed Woodborer, Little Masked Bee, Common Masked Bee, Melissodes boltoniae, Melissodes vernoniae, Lasioglossum politum, Dieunomia triangulifera, Variable Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, Large-headed Armoured-Resin bee, Nomada bifasciata, Robust Small-Mason, Coelioxys edita, Sharp-collared Furrow Bee, Black Masked Bee, Little Blue Carpenter Bee, Asian Honey Bee, Common Furrow Bee, Box-headed Furrow Bee, Red-tailed Bumble Bee, Spined Mason Bee, Large Masked Bee, Anthophorula asteris, Bronze-winged Bamboo-Carpenter, Black Mining Bee, Paulista Bumble Bee, Golden Furrow Bee, Tawny-legged Furrow Bee, Fiery-tailed Bumble Bee, Montana Cuckoo Carder Bee, Green-eyed Flower Bee, Yellow-legged Mining Bee, Shaggy Furrow Bee, Melissodes coloradensis, Giant Sweat Bee, Armenian Bumble Bee, Megachile anatolica, Red Dwarf Honey Bee, Peponapis pruinosa, Megachile pilidens, Giant Honey Bee, Cullum's Bumble Bee, Megachile frontalis, Shrill Carder-Bumble bee, Garden Bumble Bee, Early Bumble Bee, Common Carder Bumble Bee, White-winged Fairy Bee, Linsenmaier's Nomad, Lasioglossum sabulosum, Lasioglossum pleurospeculum, Lasioglossum podolicum, Lasioglossum subfulvicorne, Lasioglossum laevidorsum, Hylaeus glacialis, Hylaeus pfankuchi, Snowy Masked Bee, Lasioglossum tarsatum, Hylaeus moricei, Nomada pleurosticta, Andrena amieti, Lasioglossum euboeense, Lasioglossum lissonotum, Lasioglossum alpigenum, Halictus carinthiacus, Hylaeus pilosulus, Heriades crenulatus, Translucent Miner, Lasioglossum albocinctum, Hylaeus gibbus, Pseudapis diversipes, Lasioglossum marginatum, Lasioglossum lucidulum, Lasioglossum bluethgeni, Davies' Cellophane Bee, Bare-saddled Cellophane Bee, Lasioglossum discum, Halictus leucaheneus, Buff-tailed Mining Bee, Megachile flabellipes, Forest Masked Bee, Horned Masked Bee, Lasioglossum marginellum, Shiny Dufourea, Osmia scutellaris, Gredler's Masked Bee, Colletes mlokossewiczi, Megachile genalis, Variegated Masked Bee, Great Banded Furrow Bee, Andrena taraxaci, Orange-vented Mason Bee, Lasioglossum laeve, Hylaeus styriacus, Megachile melanopyga, Lasioglossum subhirtum, White-jawed Yellow-face Bee, Hesperian Miner, Fringed Furrow Bee, Small Shaggy Bee, Hylaeus tyrolensis, Osmia rufohirta, Hylaeus duckei, Halictus seladonius, Hylaeus kahri, Small Shiny Furrow Bee, Lasioglossum aeratum, Femoral Nomad, Andrena rhenana, Eucera nigrifacies, Hylaeus sinuatus, Hylaeus bifasciatus, Andrena nigroolivacea, Snowy Mason, Osmia labialis, Squat Furrow Bee, Lasioglossum minutulum, Hylaeus difformis, Narrowed Masked Bee, Short-horned Yellow-face Bee, Osmia mustelina, Polished Miner, Grey-banded Mining Bee, Nomada integra, Hylaeus taeniolatus, Nomada facilis, Lasioglossum majus, Hylaeus euryscapus, Lasioglossum subfasciatum, Large Shaggy Bee, Ridge-gastered Furrow Bee, Andrena livens, Broad-banded Nomad Bee, Small-headed Resin Bee, Common Pantaloon Bee, Chalk Yellow-face Bee, Reed Yellow-face Bee, Lasioglossum interruptum, Lasioglossum nigripes, Nomada distinguenda, Hylaeus imparilis, White-lipped Yellow-face Bee, Hylaeus paulus, Panurgus dentipes, Hylaeus crassanus, Onion Yellow-face Bee, Dotted Masked Bee, Hairy-saddled Cellophane Bee, Hylaeus alpinus, Lasioglossum lineare, Brown-banded Carder-Bumble bee, Colourful Willow Miner Bee, Moss Carder bee, Yellow-faced Miner Bee, Forbes's Sweat Bee, Andrena miserabilis, Tree Bumble Bee, Hill Cuckoo Bumble bee, Violet Carpenter Bee, Tetraloniella braunsiana, Megachile fuscicauda, Lipotriches cubitalis, Clay Bumble Bee, Downland Furrow Bee, Coppery Small Carpenter, Little Carpenter Bee, Horned Woodborer, Halictus patellatus, Haynes' Mining Bee, Mopane Stingless Bee, Ceratina sp., Perdita tridentata, Pseudopanurgus renimaculatus, Pseudopanurgus simulans, Bruner's Fairy Bee, Perdita laticincta, Anthophorula ignota, Ashmeadiella leucozona, Ashmeadiella prosopidis, Svastra sabinensis, Short Sun-digger Bee, Ceratina apacheorum, Pseudopanurgus illustris, Exomalopsis dimidiata, Megachile gentilis, Barrel Cactus Woodborer, Megachile policaris, Parosela Long-horned Bee, Oblique Sweat Bee, Triepeolus concavus, Megachile frugalis frugalis, Bequaert's Fairy Bee, Melipona quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, Nannotrigona testaceicornis, Ptilothrix bombiformis, Augochlora nigrocyanea, Mexican Bumble Bee, Middle-striped Bumble Bee, Pseudoanthidium nanum, Paratrigona subnuda, Sunflower Burrowing-Resin bee, California Digger-cuckoo Bee, Svastra obliqua, Sonoran Bumble Bee, Diadasia enavata, Horn-faced Leafcutter Bee, Megachile saulcyi, Pubescent Carpenter Bee, Foothill Carpenter Bee, Titus's Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum costulatum, Little Dark Bee, Lasioglossum fratellum, Panurgus siculus, Trachusa laeviventris, Monstrous Miner, Six-banded Sweat Bee, Eucera cineraria, Lasioglossum perclavipes, Anthophora dispar, Simple Furrow Bee, Lasioglossum corvinum, Panurginus albopilosus, Panurgus cephalotes, Small Gorse Mining Bee, Short-horned Furrow Bee, Andrena albopunctata, Andrena hispania, Lasioglossum crassepunctatum, Halictus vestitus, Lasioglossum griseolum, Eucera paraclypeata, Osmia dives, Transitory Miner, Eucera aeolopus, Eucera curvitarsis, Ceratina bifida, Eucera syriaca, Megachile albisecta, Halictus smaragdulus, Halictus tetrazonianellus, Halictus resurgens, Lasioglossum politum atomarium, Lasioglossum obscuratum, Osmia signata, Northern White-tailed Bumble Bee, Giant Furrow Bee, Lasioglossum pygmaeum, Lasioglossum bimaculatum, Eucera clypeata, Red-backed Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum glabriusculum, Forest Cuckoo Bumble bee, Halictus crenicornis, Long-faced Furrow Bee, Anthidium septemspinosum, Broad-faced Furrow Bee, Ridge-cheeked Furrow Bee, Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans, Field Cuckoo Bumble bee, Large Gorse Mining Bee, Halictus sp., White-footed Furrow Bee, Green Furrow Bee, Bombus sp., Cucumber Small Carpenter, Lobe-spurred Furrow Bee, Bombus ruderatus, Black-tailed Longhorn, Spiny-legged Stingless bee, Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee, White-banded Sweat Bee, Agapostemon viridulus, Two-spotted Miner Bee, Melissodes dentiventris
Butterflies Monarch

also Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary, Red Admiral +92 more
Black Swallowtail, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Fiery Skipper, Painted Lady, Pipevine Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, American Lady, Orange Sulphur, Great Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Queen, Spicebush Swallowtail, Hackberry Emperor, Clouded Sulphur, Eastern Black Swallowtail, Checkered White, Common Wood-Nymph, Clouded Skipper, Woodland Skipper, Anise Swallowtail, Ceraunus Blue, Bordered Patch, Reakirt's Blue, Funereal Duskywing, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Boisduval's Blue, Banded Hairstreak, Eufala Skipper, Mournful Duskywing, Polyommatus icarus, Northern Checkerspot, Common Sootywing, Lyside Sulphur, Weidemeyer's Admiral, Common Alpine, Gorgone Checkerspot, Tailed Copper, Hickory Hairstreak, Arogos Skipper, Indra Swallowtail, Prairie Arogos Skipper, Camillus Crescent, Plain Tiger Butterfly, Large White, Small Copper, Common Branded Skipper, Marbled White, European Comma, Pioneer White, False Dotted Border, Speyeria mormonia eurynome, Pawnee Skipper, Pyrgus communis, Speyeria callippe, Cynthia cardui, Occidryas anicia capella, Russet Skipperling, Green Skipper, Polites origenes, Neominois ridingsii, Eresia aveyrona mylitta, Titania's Fritillary, Green-veined White, Spotted Joker, Yellow Pansy, Blue-spot Pansy, Brazilian Lady, Hypolimnas misippus, Dione vanillae maculosa, Juno Silverspot, Urbanus procne, Atrytone delaware, Holly Blue, Leptophobia aripa elodia, Abaeis nicippe, White Peacock, Atalopedes campestris, Knapweed Fritillary, Spanish Gatekeeper, Black-eyed Blue, Speckled Wood, Colias alfacariensis, Loweia tityrus, Southern Brown Argus, Acraea horta, Two Pip Policeman, Limenitis arthemis arthemis, Speyeria nokomis, Silvery Checkerspot, Speyeria cybele, Anosia plexippus
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher

also Eastern Calligrapher, Common Drone Fly, Transverse-banded Flower Fly +35 more
Thick-legged Hover Fly, Eurasian Drone Fly, Virginia Giant Hover Fly, Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Black-margined Flower Fly, Variable Duskyface Fly, Common Lagoon Fly, Yellow-legged Flower Fly, Common Loopwing Aphideater, Broad-headed Marsh Fly, Common Flower Fly, Dusky-banded Leafwalker, Black-footed Globetail, Green Jewel Fly, Poecilanthrax tegminipennis, Orange-belted Leafwalker, Yellow-legged Bog Fly, Hourglass Drone Fly, Migrant Hover Fly, Common Globetail, Marmalade Hover Fly, Eurasian Smoothwing, Trivittate Marsh Fly, Stripe-eyed Lagoon Fly, Hemipenthes sinuosus, Phytomia incisa, Bare-winged Aphideater, Black Banded Bee Fly, Phthiria vagans, Anthrax trifasciatus, Lomatia tysiphone, Orangebum Hover Fly, Eumerus obliquus, Tapered Drone Fly, Villa alternata
Also visited by
- Beetles:
  
  Asian Lady Beetle, Seven-spotted Lady Beetle +26 more
  Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Goldenrod Soldier Beetle, Spotted Pink Lady Beetle, Common Red Soldier Beetle, Striped Cucumber Beetle, Variegated Lady Beetle, Six-spotted Flower Longhorn Beetle, Oulema melanopus, Acmaeodera amplicollis, Mournful Long-horned Beetle, Diabrotica longicornis, Black-striped Longhorn Beetle, Sutured Longhorn Beetle, Downy Long-horned Beetle, Flat-headed Hardwood Borer, Grapevine Beetle, Diabrotica speciosa, northern corn rootworm, Disonycha glabrata, Banded Cucumber Beetle, Chlorophorus trifasciatus, Protaetia oblonga, Monolepta citrinella, Stenopterus rufus, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus, Chlorophorus glaucus
- Moths:
  
  White-lined Sphinx, Yellow-collared Scape Moth +28 more
  Common Tan Wave, Corn Earworm Moth, Garden Webworm Moth, Master's Dart, Dingy Cutworm Moth, Spotted Beet Webworm Moth, Alfalfa Looper, Tobacco Budworm Moth, Inornate Pyrausta Moth, Variable Reddish and California Pyrausta Moths, Subgothic and Tricose Darts, Black-and-yellow Lichen Moth, Signate Quaker, Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth, Olive Arches Moth, Yellow Sunflower Moth, Eurasian Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Silver Υ, Lycaena rubidus, Plusia precationis, Pellucid Hawkmoth, Nyctemera lacticinia, Pyrausta acrionalis, Common Looper Moth, Heady Maiden, Crimson-speckled Flunkey, African Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Chamaesphecia anthraciformis
- Wasps:
  
  Bald-faced Hornet, Eastern Yellowjacket +14 more
  Western Yellowjacket, Common Aerial Yellowjacket, Golden Paper Wasp, European tube wasp, Euodynerus hidalgo boreoorientalis, Prairie Yellowjacket, Parancistrocerus leionotus, Common European Yellowjacket, Mediterranean Potter Wasp, Ruby-tailed Cuckoo Wasps, American Yellowjacket, Hidalgo Mason Wasp, Ancistrocerus campestris, German Yellowjacket
- Birds:
  
  Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow +1 more
  American Goldfinch
- Hummingbirds: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: The Pacific Coast, the Southwest, and the Great Plains and southern CanadaUnited States (19): AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, KS, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA. Canada (2): MB, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Manitoba and Minnesota to Texas and westward; naturalized to the AtlanticThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 3–11 · Canadian 2–9The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Dry, disturbed clays or heavy sandsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 5.5–7.8The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Spread: ~1 ft (0.3 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
Life cycle: AnnualWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 8+ in (20+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Mar–NovWhen it flowers.
Flower color: YellowThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: Achene; ripens Jul–NovThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: SeedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.0 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: ModerateHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: LowHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.