Sometimes a stage business need drives the home garden food market . That ’s how it was with pollen - free sunflowers , certain varieties ofHelianthus annuus .
These varieties first became democratic with florist and wedding planner .
The idea was less about preventing allergic reaction and more about keeping reduce sunflower from leaving a bright yellow stain on white-hot tablecloth , work shirt , wedding apparel , and such .
Plant hybridizers started to engender male person - unfertile sunflower that do n’t get pollen as part of the process of developingnew cultivars .
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Soon they began apply the same process to benefit the flowered design diligence . Next , the mind caught on with the home plate and garden consumer grocery store .
Today there are so many varieties of pollenless helianthus useable that you’re able to find cultivars in numerous colors , 1 with a branching habit or that grow on a exclusive stem , and case that bloom on various timetable .
What You’ll Learn
Why Grow Pollenless Sunflowers ?
Popular Pollenless cultivar
1 . Buttercream
2 . Chocolate Cherry
3 . banger
4 . Jnr
5 . Moulin Rouge
6 . ProCut ® Series
7 . Santa Fe Sunset
8 . Strawberry Blonde
9 . Van Gogh
I ’ll guide you through some of the skillful varieties to choose for unlike scenarios in a minute , but first I want to answer an obvious question :
Why would you want to grow pollenless sunflower in your home garden ?
The grounds vary .
You may opt growing these blossom to supply a local market , or if you ’re making your own arrangement and bouquets for a wedding or celebration .
perhaps you just opt to keep pollen off your piece of furniture , or you want varieties that flower quicker , which is commonly ( but not always ) the lawsuit with pollenless cultivar .
These blooms also incline tolast longer in gash flower arrangementsthan their open - pollenate counterparts .
Or , you may just fall in love with the tone of the salad days on a variety that does n’t produce that detritus .
I will say that being allergic to sunflowers is not a huge motivator here . It ’s not like anyone buries their nose in the shiny heyday , because they do n’t really give off much of a olfactory property .
But if you ’re super susceptible to hay fever , and plan to drop considerable sentence around the cut flower , that might be another reason to maturate varieties that produce zero pollen .
Of course , there are some position where you ’re skillful off with a variety thatdoesproduce pollen .
For one , the old - fashioned types of sunflowers tend to bloom over a longer point of time .
They also do more tonurture bee and other pollinator , consort to sources like the Center for Agriculture , Food , and the Environment at theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst .
While pollenless sunflowers still offer bee nectar , the open - pollinate varieties produce both nectar and pollen , so bees can make one stop for both sources of sustenance . ( Butterflies , though , eff the blooms that bring about only nectar . )
As is the case with most horticulture decision , there are swap - offs . But if you ’re opting for Team No - Pollen , you have a tangible treat in stock . There are so many fun and beautiful choice !
Here are nine of the most popular pollenless sunflowers that I ’ll highlight :
The exquisite creamy petals on ‘ Buttercream ’ are light and fluttery , almost like they ’re dancing at a wedding .
They take about 70 days to bloom , and the emasculated flowers will last many daylight longer than undefended - pollinated selections .
They ’re sodding for bridal bouquets and reception centerpieces , certainly , but also appreciated as part of everyday display of philia .
‘ Buttercream ’ is a feast for the eyes .
What if life is not like a corner of chocolates , Forrest ? What if alternatively it is a tall vase full of alluring , ramify blooms in drinking chocolate and cherry tree hues ?
We would n’t have to go as far to work off the calories , that ’s for sure .
‘ Chocolate Cherry ’
And everyone could every bit love the borders , bed , or flower arrangements filled with six to seven - pes ‘ Chocolate Cherry ’ plant .
They do n’t contain scratch , after all – and they do n’t produce pollen , either .
Find seed in a variety of packet sizesavailable at Burpee .
These suitably - named sunflowers score oohs and ahs in the daytime , lighting up the garden and the flower vase instead of the sky .
‘ cracker ’ blooms with a volley of lulu and energy . The four- to five - in blossom have sorry , velvety centers ring with coal - red flower petal that are tipped with Lord’s Day - kissed yellow .
Look scurvy to see the spectacle . ‘ cracker ’ grow to a maximum stature of just two to three feet .
As a semi - dwarf variety , it ’s ideal for those bet for vivacious vividness in a mid - border , or asplashy container annualwith masses of bloom in a lowly blank space .
They ’ll lighten your Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , and do it quickly , remove just 55 days to explode into Bolshevik and gold . And they ’ll add fervor to your summer without pit the detent or keeping you up past your bedtime .
Yes , the name of this cultivar create me wonder who “ Senior ” might be .
But my only other question about this variety is , “ What took you so long ? ”
‘ Junior ’ is the first midget branching cultivar among pollenless sunflower . It ’s perfect for pots , growing only to about 30 inches tall .
This means you’re able to pronto grow a centrepiece alfresco and move it into the consequence place at will . Genius !
The blooms have cheerful yellow petals with sorry centers , a full - sized four or five inches per flower .
I intend they look almost like bolder , bigger , black - eyed Susans . But if they ’re bigger , they would n’t be refer ‘ Jnr ’ … or would they ?
I ’m not going to postulate .
The petals in tones of rust , cherry-red , and burgundy would sure enough revolutionize Toulouse - Lautrec to cull up his paintbrush .
But these works of artistry grow on straw five to six base tall , with one gist bloom flanked by side blooms .
‘ Moulin Rouge ’
Perhaps they ’re in formation for a club phone number ?
you may find ‘ Moulin Rouge ’ seed in a variety of packet sizesavailable at Eden Brothers .
result it to the pros ? That ’s not usually my shibboleth , because I care to get my own hands dirty and set my own pace in the garden .
But for these sunflower , I ’ll make an exception . They are some of the best - know pollen - free varieties , developed for pro flower store and cultivator .
All of the mixed bag in the ProCut ® Series are be intimate for grow in average soil , standing up to heat , and tolerating drouth . And they ’re useable in a variety of color .
Another advantage : these bloom in as picayune as 50 solar day , which is almost a month originally than many tall heirlooms .
ProCut ® Series Orange
The orange ProCut ® Series sunflowers are a colorful monitor of autumn , with daisy - flair flower petal environ a rich brown disk .
The red flowers from the ProCut ® Series are just as hardy , but they shape three to four - column inch heads with deep , swarthy red petals that frame the obscure snapper disc , also daisy - style .
ProCut ® Series Red
An attractive gold selection with brilliant icteric petal radiating from a light-green - golden eye disk is also available .
ProCut ® Series Gold
Another bonus : while sunflowers do dependable with verbatim sowing , you’re able to get a head embark on on a short season by starting this eccentric of seminal fluid indoors six to eight week prior to the middling last hoar date – same as the pro do .
ProCut ® Seriesseeds are available from True Leaf Marketin packets of 500 . you’re able to ordain each color separately , or a intermixture of all three .
This pollen - free beauty shares its name with the city in New Mexico famed for its vibrant graphics residential district . It , too , has an abundance of Southwestern flare .
The fully - double blush on a multi - head husk will open up to five to eight inches in diameter . And what a display !
‘ Santa Fe Sunset ’
The daisy - shaped petal radiate out from a abstruse , wide , chocolate - emblazon eye . The yellow mob bleeds out to Bourgogne and then to inscrutable peach , redolent of a woven blanket or a desert sundown .
you may get ‘ Santa Fe Sunset ’ seeds in various packet boat sizesat Eden Brothers .
If you ’re the type who constantly flirt with fuzz gloss or repaint the walls every two months , well , this flush might help you to fight ( or to satisfy ) those impulse .
It comes in a completely experimental color – the first standardized rear pink sunflower . But unlike those dubious chemical color unconscious process , this strawberry light-haired flavour picture show double-dyed every fourth dimension .
The yellow - tinged bloom have deep blush petals surrounding a dark disc .
They supply an copiousness of bloom on furcate plants , so you ’ll have plenty to cut off and arrange , without having to tire out the results out in public if things do n’t work out out as plan .
‘ Strawberry Blonde ’
Just make certain you have enough space for this freshly - colored mixed bag . ‘ Strawberry Blonde ’ grows six groundwork tall and spreads at least two feet .
If you do n’t allow enough distance , it might take over less fast-growing screw works , and the blossom are so passably you ’ll in all likelihood have to just let them do it .
you’re able to incur mail boat of 30 seedsavailable from Burpee .
“ Starry Night ” gives way to daylight brightness with this namesake prime .
Dutch post - impressionist Vincent van Gogh was enthrall with sunflower , and rendered them so finely that the artist and the blossom are still associated more than a century after his death .
Each stem produces just one flower , with lemon tree yellow petals fanning out from centers of rich gold emphasize by green - atomic number 79 substance , depend quite like the blossom portrayed in Van Gogh ’s work .
Does art imitate life , or do these vivacious efflorescence stir the invaluable masterpieces hang in far - flung museum ? When you ’re viewing this gay delectation , the result is , “ Both . ”
Sunflowers, Hold the Pollen, Please
It ’s been fun apportion these top pollenless sunflower pick with you , but now I ’m go to apportion a mystery :
I ’ve never suffer a helianthus I did n’t wish !
No matter which type you prefer to grow , I ’m kick the bucket to be wildly enthusiastic .
There are so many options , from these intercrossed versions that wo n’t leave behind yellow powder in their wake , to the spare - dwarf miniskirt with just a bit of pollen , to the towering old school version , some of them with plate - size blooms .
And if you ’re interested in learning sunflowersin your garden , check out these guide next :
© take the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more contingent . First published August 16th , 2020 . Last updated April 14th , 2025 . Product photos via Burpee , David ’s Garden Seeds , Eden Brothers , Seed Needs , and dead on target Leaf Market . Uncredited picture : Shutterstock .
About
Rose Kennedy
