VANDERMEER
PLANT LIBRARY
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Happy Days Sunflower
Helianthus 'Happy Days'
Height: 24 inches
Spacing: 16 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Description:
This stunning variety has fully double yellow blooms with golden anemone-like centers; has a habit much like a dahlia and is relatively short in stature; excellent for the middle of borders or containers
Ornamental Features
Happy Days Sunflower has masses of beautiful yellow daisy flowers with gold eyes at the ends of the stems from mid to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its pointy leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
Happy Days Sunflower is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.
This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;
- Disease
Happy Days Sunflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Hedges/Screening
- General Garden Use
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Planting & Growing
Happy Days Sunflower will grow to be about 20 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 16 inches apart. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!
This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.