In late summer and into fall, our trial gardens are alive with pollinators—birds, bees and butterflies—and most prefer to flutter among the vivid yellow flowers of this tall and hardy native perennial sunflower. We ship them bareroot because the rate of growth once they start is remarkable, and they could never be contained long enough to get them to the northern zones, once they've begun their annual growth. Give them full sun, good drainage and room to grow and you'll be rewarded with towering golden blooms that make terrific cut flowers. This member of the Helianthus (Sunflower) family is reliably perennial in most of the country, and its sturdy 4-7' tall stems are covered with 2-3" yellow blooms from midsummer to frost. A favorite of birds and butterflies, this sunflower is the real deal—do check out our video. Long-lived plants thrive in heat, drought and even poor soil. Helianthus maximilliani