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Autumn Beauty sunflower
Big, bright, and bold sunflowers are a wonderful way to add some color and vibrancy to your summer garden or yard. Autumn Beauty sunflowers are definitely some of the most beautiful sunflowers out there.
Autumn Beauty is a variety of sunflowers known for their picturesque ombre yellow-orange-brown petals. The plants are low maintenance, sturdy, and easy to grow in the full sun. They bloom in the late summer and early fall. The color of the flowers is a beautiful mixture of reds, yellows, and warm oranges that is reminiscent of autumn leaves.
There’s no doubt that Autumn Beauty sunflowers are beautiful and a great option for you to grow at home. However, there are some things you should know about the care and keeping of these plants.
Autumn Beauty sunflower basics
Autumn Beauties are sunflowers that don’t require much effort to grow. They can be grown in any zone and are sturdy plants. They typically bloom from late summer all the way into fall, hence the name “Autumn Beauty.”
Their color is a beautiful mixture of reds, yellows, and warm oranges reminiscent of fallen leaves in the fall. They don’t look like the stereotypical yellow sunflowers you normally think of, but they are just as bright and beautiful.
They can include bright yellow, bronze, and even purple shades with some bicolors. This type of flower will also attract butterflies, honey bees and hummingbirds due to their multiple blooms that are nectar-rich.
Autumn Beauty sunflowers are a wonderful member of any garden and can make a beautiful addition to bouquets as well. This particular sunflower variety will grow anywhere from 5 to 10 feet (60 to 120 inches) tall.
They will produce very large and bold flower bulbs that can be up to 8 inches across. The stem length is anywhere from 12 to about 40 inches long.
Autumn Beauty Sunflowers is a branching type of sunflower. This means that they produce many different flowers instead of just one, and it produces many long stems.
In addition to all this, sunflower plants are actually edible. The flower buds can be fried. The petals can actually be used as a garnish in salads and desserts too. The flavor of the flower is somewhat bittersweet, though, so add it to food accordingly!
They are an open-pollinated type of sunflower. This means that they are a non-hybrid variety, and they can reproduce themselves in kind. As they do this, they demonstrate relatively stable traits through each generation.
Reasons to grow Autumn Beauty sunflowers
Some of the main reasons to grow Autumn Beauty sunflowers is because they make for excellent cut flowers and can be a wonderful addition to bouquets. These beautiful flowers also make great additions to any sort of garden.
This type of plant is also a great choice for tall border rows, farmscapes, and even not-too-tall sunflower mazes.
How to plant and grow this type of sunflower
Sunflower seeds usually take about a week to germinate. They germinate faster in warm soil, such as about 70 to 75°F (or 21 to 24°C).
It is recommended to grow these plants directly from seeds rather than buying baby seedling plants at the nursery. The seeds should be planted after the last frost. They should be sowed about a half-inch deep. Plant them straight in the soil outdoors if possible (not indoors in seedling trays).
You can sow every 1 to 2 weeks. You can even plant multiple varieties for continuous blooming and harvest of sunflowers.
Autumn Beauty sunflowers should be planted in light and well-drained soil. That said, sunflowers are usually very tolerant of poor soil. You don’t want to have excessive nitrogen as this can cause problems as the plant grows.
These types of flowers need a lot of full sun. They should have exposure to full sun in order to thrive and are heat tolerant. If that’s not available, they should at least have half sun for as much of the day as possible.
These sunflowers should be spaced out at least 6 inches from each other so they have enough room to grow the way they are supposed to and if you’re wanting them to thrive. You can thin them out to one plant per foot as the seedlings grow. This also holds true if you want to plant other seeds such as grass seed or other wildflower seed.
How fast do Autumn Beauty sunflowers grow?
Autumn Beauty sunflowers, the days-to-maturity after planting is around 75 to 85 days. The number of days to maturity refers to the average number of days from the planting or sowing date to the harvest date. It will usually be a little under or around three months for this type of plant to reach full maturity.
Does This Type of Sunflower Bloom More Than Once?
Sunflowers are annuals and will die after their main flower goes to seed. Once this happens, they do not grow and bloom again. This type of sunflower will grow, flower, and bloom only once a year and will not grow back the next season.
While some sunflower plants will have many flowers in a season, they will only bloom one time during the growing season.
Do They Come Back Every Year?
Autumn Beauty sunflowers do not come back every year. This type of plant is annual, which means it only has a single growing season. If you want to enjoy Autumn Beauty blooms every summer, then you’ll need to plant them every single year.
