Growing Tithonia: A Complete Profile

By Growing Home Greens Team · July 25, 2026

Tithonia, better known as Mexican sunflower, is a fast-growing, heat-loving annual that produces vivid orange-red blooms on tall, sturdy stems late in the season, just as many other cut flowers are winding down.

Sowing it

Seed needs light to germinate, so barely cover it. Direct-sow once soil has warmed to 70-85°F, or get a jump start by sowing indoors about 6 weeks before your last frost date and transplanting out after frost danger passes. Expect first blooms around 85-90 days from seeding. ‘Torch’ is the classic tall type; if you want the height, plant that one and skip the compact cultivars bred for smaller beds.

Giving it room

Tithonia is low-fuss once established, but it grows tall, 4-6 feet, and can shade or crowd smaller neighbors if not given enough room or placed at the back of a bed.

A late-season butterfly magnet for the north edge

Place tithonia on the north edge of a bed so it doesn’t shade shorter plants, and expect it to become a butterfly magnet through late summer and fall, right when many earlier-blooming flowers have already peaked.

Sources: Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia), Johnny’s Selected Seeds; How to Grow Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifolia) for Pollinators & Summer Color, Clemson Home & Garden Information Center.

Companion planting guide for Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) · Find your planting dates

Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.

Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) tolerates either.

See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →

How many Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) plants fit per square foot?

Spacing: about 2 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 4-6 ft.

Varieties worth considering

• Torch (Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch'): The original All-America Selections winner from 1951 and still the standard, bright orange-red type that reaches the full 4-6 foot height tithonia is grown for. Compact types like 'Fiesta del Sol' top out around 3 feet, a different plant for a spot that wants a low border, not a late-season screen or a tall cutting flower. (source)
• 'Fiesta del Sol': A 2000 AAS winner Clemson describes as maturing at about 3 feet, bright orange with yellow centers, well suited to smaller gardens where Torch's 4-6 feet would overwhelm the space. (source)
• 'Goldfinger': The smallest of the three per Clemson, orange-gold flowers on a 2-2.5 foot plant, an even more compact option than Fiesta del Sol for the tightest spaces. (source)

Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.

Where to buy tithonia seeds

• Botanical Interests
• True Leaf Market
• Burpee
• High Mowing Organic Seeds

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See it growing

Search YouTube for "growing tithonia (mexican sunflower)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)

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Growing Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower): A vigorous, heat-loving Mexican sunflower that provides a late-season burst of butterfly-friendly color.

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