Meet the amazing giant sunflower that fixes bad soil

UPDATE: SOLD OUT FOR 2014

Did you ever dream of growing something beautiful that also repaired lousy dirt?

Probably not, but if you knew there WAS something beautiful that also repaired bad dirt, I bet you'd want to grow it. When I found out about these guys, I was hooked.

Meet Tithonia diversifolia:

Also known as "Mexican sunflowers" or "tree marigolds," these knock-out flowers are 15 - 20' tall. They're massive.

I grow these as "nutrient accumulators," cutting them 3-4 times a year and throwing the stems and leaves around plants and trees that need feeding. (For some good research on the fertilizing power of Tithonia diversifolia, click here). In another month, they'll all be gone thanks to the frost... but they'll come back from the roots in spring.

Though the varieties I've encountered in the US don't produce viable seeds, they are easily propagated through cuttings. Once you get some, it's really easy to make more. I stick them all over my food forest.

The only time Mexican sunflowers bloom here is in November, so I'm enjoying it while they last. The butterflies are happy and the blooms make great cut flowers, with a rich honeyed aroma.

See? I'm not just a brutal utilitarian. I can appreciate pretty things, as long as they're also useful.

Whoops. Guess I AM a brutal utilitarian.

And... speaking of brutal utilitarianism, click below to buy your very own.

SOLD OUT FOR 2014

If you want them this year, pull the trigger now... it won't be long before the freezes take out my stock and I won't have them again until May or June. I might be able to put some aside in the greenhouse, but they really do best from fresh cuttings. Pot them up now, keep 'em warm, and then plant them out in the spring and they'll grow so fast you won't believe your eyes.

I'll send cuttings anywhere in the US via Priority mail, plus I always throw in an extra surprise plant when you buy from me. Cuttings root very easily, just like the cassava I sell. Just pop them into a pot (or in the ground, if you're going to have a frost-free winter) and they'll be growing in no time. Plant them out after the last frost and you'll have your own forest of giant flowers by next fall.