Rays for Days is an exceptionally free-flowering false sunflower with large, fully double golden yellow blooms that resemble zinnias. The dense, well-rounded plant is packed with flowers from midsummer into late summer.
At about two feet tall it brightens the middle of a border, and the tall flower stems make it a fine cut flower. It shrugs off heat and drought once established.
What it looks like
Fully double flowers about 3 inches across, packed with layers of short golden yellow petals into a rounded, zinnia-like bloom with a small golden center. Many flowers are carried on tall, upright stems just above the foliage. Leaves are glossy, deep green, triangular and toothed. The plant is a dense, well-rounded, bushy mound 24 to 26 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. At peak bloom it is almost entirely covered with golden double flowers.
Growing it with lavender
Its golden double flowers pair well in front of or beside lavender for a classic purple-and-yellow planting in full sun.
Care
Grow in full sun to light part shade in average, well-drained soil; established plants tolerate dry spells. Hardy in zones 3 to 9. Deadhead spent flowers to extend bloom and cut the plant back after frost.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Heliopsis helianthoides
-
Flower color: Golden yellow
-
Foliage: Glossy deep green
-
Growth habit: Dense, well-rounded, bushy mound
-
Mature size: 24–26 in tall × 18–24 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
-
Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
-
Bloom start: Early-July
-
Peak bloom: Late-July
-
Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
-
Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
-
Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
