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Sunflower, of the Mexican kind
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The Mexican Sunflower is a tall annual plant with sun-shaped flowers of a bright orange-red colour.
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TITHONIA ROTUNDIFOLIA (T. speciosa) is a tall plant reaching a height of 1.5 to 2 metres. It bears orange-red zinnia-like flowers on long stalks. The plant hails from Mexico and is commonly called the Mexican Sunflower. It is a member of the Asteraceae (Compasitae) family.
Tithonia speciosa is a hardy and woody perennial but gardeners often grow it is an annual. Among annuals, it is a large plant and so is suitable for planting at the back of flowerbeds.
The plant has alternate, ovate and toothed leaves. Some of them are three-lobed. The leaves are borne on stout stalks. Flowers are about 8-cms across. It is a sun loving plant and its name is derived from Titonus - the favourite lover of Aurora, the Goddess of dawn. The sun-like shape of the flowers and the orange-red colour of the radiating petals also helped the plant acquire the name.
When the plant becomes old, some of the lower leaves wither and they should then, be removed to make the plant look tidy. Removal of dried flowers will induce the plant to produce more flowers.
Mexican Sunflower can be easily raised from seeds, which can be sown in seed-pans. Later, seedlings should be transferred to beds. Self-sown seedlings often appear around mature plants and some of them may be removed to prevent over crowding. The plants are to be given an interspace of about five metres.
New varieties like Sundance and Torch are available now. They are shorter, robust and bushy.
Tithonia speciosa can survive in poor soil and it does well in a light-manured soil. It flowers in three months after planting. Because of the long stalks, the flowers are excellent for cutting. The plant being hardy has the tendency to spread all by itself in moist areas and acquire the status of a weed.
CHITRA RADHAKRISHNAN
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