Sunflower 'Taiyo'

Prefers full sun in well drained soil. Should not need staking unless in an exposed position.

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Taiyo is thought of as half hardy, so remember to protect this plant from frosts and low temperatures. Ensure your soil is loamy and clay and has a ph of between 5.7 and 8.1 as Sunflower is a weakly acidic soil to weakly alkaline soil loving plant.

Sow thinly 1cm deep and 30cm apart in well cultivated soil. Alternatively, they seeds can be started inside in late winter early summer at 20C. Put two seeds in a 7cm pot and weed out the weakest seedling before growing on

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 5.85 inches (15.0 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.49 inches (1.25 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 13°C / 55°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Taiyo about 21 days before your last frost date.

When well grown, acclimatise the plants to outside conditions and plant out when all frost has gone.
Choose a bright, sunny,position out of the wind

Ensure that temperatures are mild (minimum night temperatures should be around 10°C / 50°F) and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Taiyo is a half hardy plant.

Can be used as cut flowers, but the bloom is large, and usually only one per plant.

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by late summer.

The botanical epithet is from the Latin annuus meaning “annual”.¹
‘helios’ means sun

This tall sunflower was discovered growing in Japan.

¹ Latin Dictionary