Heliopsis 'Tuscan Sun'
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Heliopsis 'Tuscan Sun': Sunflower Cheer, Shrunk to Fit
'Tuscan Sun' brings the villa vacation to your backyard, minus the airfare. Compact golden daisies that stand up straight without a stake and shrug off heat waves. CIAO, STAKES. CIAO, WATERING CAN.
Plant Characteristics:
- Botanical Name: Heliopsis helianthoides 'Tuscan Sun'
- Common Name: False Sunflower, Perennial Sunflower
- Series: A Proven Winners® perennial
- Height: 60–90 cm (2–3 ft)
- Spread: 50–60 cm (20–24 in)
- Flowers: Golden yellow daisies with darker golden centres
- Bloom Time: Summer into fall (July to September)
- Foliage: Green, on a compact, upright clump
- Features: Heat tolerant, no staking needed, good cut flower
Where to Plant: Its compact size lets it go where taller plants of its kind can't: the front or middle of a border, small yards, mass plantings and big containers. It also earns a place in a cut-flower bed.
Companion Plants: Give compact 'Tuscan Sun' a sunny or part-shade bed with a pink peony, red daylilies and pink asters. Paeonia 'Sarah Bernhardt' opens big pink double peonies at 90 cm in June. Hemerocallis Happy Ever Appster™ 'Red Hot Returns' adds cherry-red daylilies at 61 to 71 cm from July to September. Aster 'Wood's Pink' brings clear pink asters at 30 to 40 cm from August to October. Sesleria heufleriana edges the front with blue-green tufts at 45 to 60 cm.
Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in average, well-drained soil that's acidic to neutral. Give it average water. It tolerates somewhat dry soil once established. Deadheading may bring more flowers but isn't required. Good air circulation helps keep the leaves healthy in humid summers. Cut back in late fall or early spring. A winter mulch helps prevent frost heaving in the freeze-thaw cycles of a Canadian spring. Divide in spring every few years if the clump gets crowded.
History: 'Tuscan Sun' is a compact selection of Heliopsis helianthoides, a false sunflower native to eastern and central North America, including Ontario. It earned awards in 2009 and 2010 trials at the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State, the University of Georgia and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank.
Final Thoughts: Plant it in the hottest spot you've got and pour yourself something cold. It's got this. VACATION MODE: PERMANENT.