Tithonia

Tithonia (lat.Tithonia) is a genus of flowering annual or perennial herbaceous plants of the family Asteraceae (Asteraceae). It includes 11 species distributed in Mexico, the southwestern United States and some areas of Central America.

The plant's name most likely derives from the name of the king of Troy — Tithonus, the favorite of the goddess of the morning dawn Eos.

Perennial and annual herbaceous or subshrub plants with sturdy branching stems, sometimes woody at the base. Leaves are arranged alternately, entire or three-lobed, on petioles. Inflorescences are large heads with a single row of large ligulate (ray) florets and a disk of small tubular florets. Flower stalks are long and thickened. Fruit — an achene with a pappus.

In cultivation:

Tithonia rotundifolia — Tithonia rotundifolia

An annual herbaceous plant 40 to 150 cm tall. Stems reddish, sparsely pubescent. Leaves large, cordate three-lobed, toothed (crenate), glabrous on the upper side, silky-hairy beneath, on petioles. Inflorescences — heads 5–8 cm in diameter, resembling the heads of single (non-double) dahlias, terminal or axillary. Ray florets red, red-orange, orange; tubular florets yellow. Blooms from late July until the frosts, has a slight fragrance. Produces fruit. In cultivation since 1733. Attracts butterflies to the garden.

A large plant for the middle of a bed or the back of a border. Tithonia can also be used in a mixed border created in a cottage style — among lupins, chamomiles, kochia, wormwood. In solitary plantings this plant should be protected from drafts and provided with stability by staking or placing between two metal half-rings on a support. Grows well in pots and other containers.

Location: heat-loving and light-loving. An open, sunny site is most suitable.

Soil: not demanding, but grows better on fertile, loose soils.

Care: remove faded inflorescences; responds well to fertilization.

Propagation: by seed for seedlings in March–April. Transplant to open ground in early June.