prairie wildflower
Prairie sunflower
Helianthus petiolaris
Also known as Plains Sunflower
1 of 3Native to the Great Plains, the Rockies, and the Southwest and southern Canada
Great Plains, south to Texas, Arizona and adjacent Mexico; naturalized eastward and occasionally westward
- Light Full sun Sun tolerance
- Moisture Moisture preference
- Zones 3–10 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Jun–Sep Flowering time
- Height up to 6 ft to 1.8 m
- Life cycle Annual Annual to perennial
In the garden
A prairie wildflower for full sun. At up to 6 ft, it needs room in meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 3–10.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
Pollinators & wildlife
- Butterflies Monarch
also Fiery Skipper, Gray Hairstreak, Orange Sulphur +13 more
Clouded Sulphur, Bordered Patch, Reakirt's Blue, Boisduval's Blue, Weidemeyer's Admiral, Gorgone Checkerspot, Camillus Crescent, Common Branded Skipper, Speyeria mormonia eurynome, Pawnee Skipper, Pyrgus communis, Speyeria callippe, Cynthia cardui - Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee
also Western Honey Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee, American Bumble Bee +15 more
Bombus fervidus, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Sunflower Mining Bee, Swenk's Fairy Bee, Dieunomia triangulifera, Giant Sweat Bee, Haynes' Mining Bee, White-winged Fairy Bee, Perdita tridentata, Pseudopanurgus renimaculatus, Pseudopanurgus simulans, Bruner's Fairy Bee, Perdita laticincta - Wasps Western Yellowjacket also Golden Paper Wasp, Prairie Yellowjacket
- Also visited by
- Beetles: Six-spotted Flower Longhorn Beetle, Sutured Longhorn Beetle
- Moths: Yellow Sunflower Moth, Lycaena rubidus
- Flower flies: Margined Calligrapher
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- Gorgone checkerspothost & nectar
- Silvery checkerspotcaterpillar host
- Boisduval's bluenectar
- Clouded sulphurnectar
- Fiery skippernectar
- Gray hairstreaknectar
- Monarch butterflynectar
- Orange sulphurnectar
- Reakirt's bluenectar
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- The Great Plains, the Rockies, and the Southwest and southern CanadaUnited States (14): AZ, CO, IA, KS, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY. Canada (4): AB, BC, MB, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- Great Plains, south to Texas, Arizona and adjacent Mexico; naturalized eastward and occasionally westwardThe 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.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 3–10 · Canadian 2–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Sandy soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
- Soil texture
- Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
- Soil pH
- Mildly acid to mildly alkalineThe acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 6 ft (to 1.8 m)Typical mature height.
- Life cycle
- AnnualWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Jun–SepWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- YellowThe bloom color, or colors.
- Fruit/Seeds
- Achene; ripens Aug–NovThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
- Toxicity
- None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.