Torch Tithonia | Tithonia rotundifolia | Certified Organic
Effusive and crowd-pleasing red-orange blooms
Grow this tall, showy annual in back of borders or in a m ass planting for the most fiery effect.
Start seeds indoors in a warm spot, about 75-80 degrees, 4-6 weeks before last frost date. Seedlings are slower to start than zinnias or sunflowers, so have a bit of patience if you have not planted them before. They take off quickly once they get going! Transplant out after threat of frost has passed. Torch Tithonia prefers full sun and well-drained soil, but tolerates partial shade. This large plant resembles sunflower and zinnia plants some-what, but you will find that the leaves are quite interesting and have a slightly fuzzy texture. Reached heights up to 6 feet and is covered in fiery-orange zinnia-like blossoms by mid-summer.
Days to Germination 5 to 14 days
Days to Maturity 75 days
Planting Depth ½ inch
Spacing in Row 24 inches
Spacing Between Rows 36 inches
Height at Maturity 72 inches
Width at Maturity 36 inches
Sun Preference Full to Partial Sun
Artist Mary O'Malley's intricate gouache paintings combine her fascination with nature and love of pattern to create an alternate "natural" world. Her Tithonia garden features symmetry, bold colour, and shimmering gold ink metallic detail.
About Hudson Valley Seed Company
They are a values-driven seed company that practices and celebrates responsible seed production and stewardship. Hudson Valley are best known for their beautiful artist-design seed packs (Art Packs) that appeal to gardeners, gift buyers, and lovers of art and nature.
These Art Packs, most fundamentally, tell stories. Hudson Valley challenges artists to convey in a manner that is fully their own, the history and meaning of the seed variety contained in each pack. These stories were once integral to traditional societies-stories of seeds were often origin stories for entire communities and peoples, and the lore and beliefs that accumulated around seed varieties reflected the nearly familial way in which gardeners and farmers regarded their crops. Our society is, by and large, no longer connected to plants this way. But we like to think these Art Packs help to stitch our fragmented world back together: useful seeds, evocative art, both equally valuable to our experience of being human.