How to Grow and Care for Tithonia - Mexican Sunflowers

About Growing Tithonia Plants in Your Home Flower Garden

Tithonia plants, also called Mexican Sunflower, is an annual plant that is native to Mexico and Central America. This drought-tolerant plant likes warm weather. You will enjoy growing Tithonia for their fragrant, daisy-like flowers in orange and yellow colors. Tithonia flowers grow 2 1/2 to 3 inches across. Remove spent blooms to promote new flowers.

Grow Tithonia plants at the back of the border. You can also grow them in groups. Some people grow them in containers on their patio or deck. If you choose to do so, put them in large floor pots.

Mexican Sunflowers attract bees and butterflies.

Tithonia is also referred to as the “Golden Flower of the Incas”.

Popular Varieties:

Torch – grows 4-6 feet tall.
Goldfinger – grows just 2-3 feet tall.

Tithonia Flower's Plant Specifications

Flower Colors: Shades of orange and yellow.

Flowers Bloom: Summer to Fall

Plant height: Two to ten feet tall, depending upon variety.

Ideal Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.8.

Plant Hardiness Zones: 3 – 11

Light Needs: Full sunlight.

Toxic Plant? Yes.

Deer Resistant? No.

Number of Species: 10 to 15 species.

Plant Type: Annuals and perennials.

Native To: Central and Suth America.

Botanical Name: Tithonia Rotundifolia

Other Names: Mexican Sunflower, Tree Marigold.

Are Tithonia Flowers Edible?

YES and NO!!

Our research found conflicting information about whether Tithonia plants are edible. Some articles claim it causes stomach discomfort if ingested. Meanwhile, other articles claim all parts of the plant are edible. We suspect some varieties are edible and others are not.

We recommend you do further research before adding this plant to your diet.

Medicinal Uses for Tithonia Plants

Mexican Sunflowers have a wide variety of traditional and home medicinal applications. Here are some of them:

It is a home remedy for malaria.
Use it to treat a variety of skin diseases.
Also, it can be used to heal skin wounds.
It treats gastrointestinal infections.
Use it to relieve urinary tract infections.
Home remedy for treating diabetes.

Light Requirements

Grow Tithonia plants in full, direct sunlight. Select a planting location where it will receive eight to ten hours or more of bright sunlight.

Insufficient sunlight results in failure to bloom and can fall over. Also, a lack of sunlight leaves the plants susceptible to fungal and other plant diseases.

Annual Tithonia Flowers Plant Propagation

Tithonia is grown from seed. In colder, northern areas, you may want to start them indoors. In warmer climates, they can be started outdoors. Keep soil moist until seeds have sprouted.

Sow Tithonia seeds outdoors after the last frost in your area, and after the soil has warmed to 60 degrees.

Important note: The seeds will take 10-21 days to sprout. So, make sure the location of outdoor starts is well marked.

Cover lightly with soil, only 1/4″. Space seeds 6-8 inches apart. The final spacing should be two feet apart.

Plant Spacing: Space small varieties four to eight inches apart. For larger varieties, space them twelve to fourteen inches apart.

Days to Germination: Seeds sprout in just 8 8 days.

About Seed Germination

How to Grow Tithonia Plants

Planting location and soil needs:

Mexican Sunflower plants like warm weather, and do not take a liking to the cold. Select a planting site that offers them in full sun all day long. Soil conditions can vary, from average to rich soil. But, it should be well-drained. Mix in plenty of compost before planting to promote optimum plant growth. After planting them, apply a general-purpose fertilizer. Then, water the site well.

Once your Tithonia plants are established, they should grow well with few, if any, problems.

Fertilizer needs:

Tithonia plants are not heavy feeders. Established plants growing in average to rich soils do not need additional fertilizer.

In poor soil, apply a general fertilizer every six to eight weeks during the growing season.

Water needs:

Tithonia plants are drought tolerant. Allow the top three inches of soil to dry out between watering. And, water them during extended periods of drought and hot, dry weather.

Other steps:

Weed around the plants, especially when they are young.

Apply a two-to-three-inch layer of mulch. This helps to keep weeds down and to retain soil moisture.

Staking plants helps to keep them from falling over, especially in heavy winds.

Flowers will begin to bloom in summer. Deadhead spent blooms to encourage the plant to produce more blooms all the way to cold weather in the fall. More on Deadheading Flowers.

How to Grow Tithonia Flowers in Containers and Flowerpots

When selecting a plant to grow in a flowerpot on your balcony or deck, low-maintenance plants are the best choice. Shorter varieties of Mexican Sunflowers are the perfect candidates.

In addition to the growing instructions above, here are a few additional steps:

These flowers tolerate a little overcrowding. So, grow them in containers a little closer than the normal recommended spacing.
Select a sunny location on your patio or deck.
It is important to have a drain hole in the container to allow excess water to drain from the pot.
The plant grows best in slightly dry soil. Keep an eye on the moisture level. Check the plants every few days, especially in extended periods of hot, dry weather.
Let the top of the soil to dry out between watering.
Nutrients in a flowerpot are limited. So, use fertilizer spikes to feed the plants. Or, apply a light solution of liquid fertilizer once a month.

Pruning

Tithonia plants require little or no pruning. Remove the occasional dead, sick, or diseased leaves as soon as you spot them. No additional pruning is needed.

Also, deadhead spent flowers to promote new buds to form and extend the blooming period.

If you want to harvest some of the seeds, leave a few spent blooms on a couple of the plants.

More on how to deadhead spent flower blooms.