Plant Profile: Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’

Lovely soft yellow flowers in late summer.

 ‘Lemon Queen’ is a big, bold perennial that blooms in late summer into fall and is adored by pollinators of all sorts.  This impressive plant can grow 6 or more feet in a season, forming a bushy clump topped with branching sprays of soft yellow daisies starting in August and continuing for 6 weeks or more. An established plant’s size at bloom time can be up to 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide.

While a full sized ‘Lemon Queen’ is impressive, it can be kept shorter by doing a Chelsea Chop in June.

This perennial sunflower does best in full sun. It will tolerate heavy clay as long as it is well drained. While it prefers moisture, it will tolerate periods of dryness and needs decent drainage. It is best to give this plant tough love- avoiding fertilizer and excess watering as too much kindness can result in floppy stems.   

It has no significant pests or diseases. It is listed as deer resistant – indeed the deer have never eaten mine. However, I suspect it would get munched in very high deer pressure areas.

A full grown ‘Lemon Queen’ makes a statement.

‘Lemon Queen’ sets very little if any viable seed so it does not seed itself around the garden. It does expand by short rhizomes but is not invasive. It can be propagated by division. If you see seeds for sale, verify that it is the perennial sunflower ‘Lemon Queen’. There is also a popular annual sunflower called ‘Lemon Queen’.

 ‘Lemon Queen’ was selected from a naturally occurring cross between 2 North American native Helianthus species,  Helianthus tuberosus which is native to the mid-Atlantic and Helianthus pauciflorus var. subrhomboideus  which is native to the Mid-west.  It is generally considered a Mid-west native plant.

If you need some big bold color in your late summer garden, give Lemon Queen a try. The pollinators will thank you.