Sunflowers have captured the hearts of flower lovers for centuries. They stand tall and proud, symbolizing optimism, joy, and summertime in general. Helianthus annus, the scientific name for sunflowers, belongs to the family Asteraceae. Experts believe there are about 70 different types of sunflowers.
From fun and fuzzy Tear Bears to giant Russian Mammoths, there are many different types of sunflowers, both large and small, that work in any garden or floral arrangement. They are praised for their large and long-lasting blooms that range in size from six inches to over a foot in diameter.
In this article:
What Are Some Different Types of Sunflowers?
In this guide, we will introduce you to 50 different types of sunflowers that look great in any garden or bouquet, such as:
- Autumn Beauty
- Velvet Queen
- Teddy Bear
- Chocolate Cherry
- …and dozens more
50 Types of Sunflowers
Sunflower fields, spread like a golden ocean beneath a cobalt sky. The peloton, a colorful serpent, cuts through, unyielding. #TourdeFrance #LeTour pic.twitter.com/vOiT27oJHN
— Hemingway and Sport (@ESPHem) July 8, 2023
For a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers, check out our Farm-Fresh Sunflowers. This breezy arrangement of sunflowers and greenery will bring happiness and fun to any occasion.
One of the oldest and most popular sunflower varieties, Russian Manmoth grows up to a towering 12 feet tall. It features huge heads with plenty of seeds that attract pollinators and massive trunks.
True to their name, Chocolate Cherry sunflowers range in color from rich chocolate to black cherry and some even have a vibrant yellow ring around the pollen disk. They stand six to seven feet in height and the average bloom measures inches across.
The Moulin Rouge sunflower produces pollen-less ruby-colored flowers with tones of burgundy and rust. Each bloom measures five to six inches across and grows on a strong stem, making them perfect for cut flowers.
4. Dwarf Yellow Spray Sunflower
Growing to just 18 to 25 inches tall, Dwarf Yellow Spray is perfect for a patio or container garden. An open-pollinated variety, it attracts a wide variety of pollinators, including butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Producing early blooming flowers, the Prado Red sunflower features four-inch-deep velvety red blooms with clear dark red petals and brown central discs. They are easy to grow and sturdy, even in poor soil.
Moonwalker sunflowers feature multiple large heads with beautiful pale yellow petals and contrasting dark centers. They are perfect for placing in the back of a garden or used for screening or privacy.
An import from Germany, the Music Box sunflower produces profuse blooms in shades of dark mahogany red to soft yellow. Growing just 28 inches tall, it’s perfect for container gardens.
The Orange Sun sunflower produces yellow-orange, six-inch, fully double blooms. Featuring a unique, dense petal structure, they look like large chrysanthemums on top of plants reaching five feet in height.
Autumn Beauty Sunflower features a mixture of warm oranges, reds, and yellows. An easy-to-grow variety, it blooms from late summer and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds to its flowers.
Solar Flash sunflower is an early blooming variety with golden petals with bronze rings and pollen-free dark brown centers. This dwarf variety grows only about 20 inches tall and 14 inches wide.
Mexican sunflowers produce dozens of blooms in shades of red, orange, or yellow with yellow centers that look more similar to daisies than sunflowers. They feature serrated oval leaves in dark green on tall, sturdy stems.
The Double Dandy sunflower features four to five-inch blooms with pops of pink and purple with a black center that blooms from summer to fall. It grows up to 24 inches tall and twelve inches wide.
The Velvet Queen Sunflower features shades of yellow, orange, and red in a perfect ring around the large black center. Blooming all summer long, each flower measures up to eight inches across.
Golden Hedge Sunflowers produce yellow-gold blooms with a greenish-gold central disc that measures six inches across. The stems branch out to form a thick barrier, creating the perfect privacy screen.
Easy to grow and drought tolerant, Lemon Queen sunflowers have lemon-yellow petals with a brown center. Each plant produces one central bloom that measures five to seven inches wide and several other smaller blooms.
Italian White sunflowers combine the big bloom size of giant sunflowers with the well-branched growing style of smaller daisy-like varieties. The blooms are four inches across, with a deep brown chocolate center, white petals, and a yellow ring around the center.
Also called Michaelmas Daisies, the Maximilian Sunflower grows to about three to ten feet tall. They feature numerous yellow flower heads up to five inches across with a green to dark brown center.
The Buttercream Sunflower features pale, butter-yellow flowers with brown centers that measure up to four and a half inches across. It features long side branches that bloom for several weeks.
The Firecracker sunflower features profuse large bicolor blooms with bright golden and orange petals and chocolate brown centers. Growing up to three feet tall, this variety is perfect for growing in containers.
Vanilla Ice sunflowers are the closest to true white, even more so than Italian White sunflowers. They are more cream or pale yellow than white, but the petals make a great contrast to the rich dark center disc.
Earthwalker Sunflowers produce beautiful copper- and bronze-colored blooms. This variety thrives in bright, sunny growing areas and blooms late in the season to mark the beginning of fall.
This fiery sunflower features five-inch yellow and deep orange-red blooms with a chocolate brown central disc. They grow on strong, tall stems, making them perfect for fresh-cut flowers.
The Evening Sun sunflower features blooms in shades of orange, yellow, and red reminiscent of a summer sunset. From summer to fall, it produces prolific blooms measuring up to ten inches each.
The Peach Passion sunflower features a peach central disc surrounded by golden yellow petals. It’s easy to grow and attracts a variety of pollinators, including butterflies and bees.
Dwarf Sunspot Sunflowers feature bright and bold yellow sunflowers, each spanning ten inches in diameter. True to their name, the plants are relatively short, growing between two and three feet tall.
A pollenless variety, the Sunrich Orange sunflower produces orange-yellow single flowers on single stems that are four to six inches in diameter. These large blooms are ideal for cut-flower production.
The Sunspot Sunflower is a classic sunflower that features big ten-inch heads with plenty of seeds. Growing just about one and a half feet tall, it produces vibrant, bright yellow petals with golden brown centers.
The Chianti Hybrid is one of the deepest red sunflowers with wine-red velvet petals flecked with gold. Each bloom measures three to four inches across and the plants grow up to five feet tall.
Teddy Bear sunflowers look like miniature mops with their hundreds of fluffy yellow double-petaled blooms measuring five to six inches across. Though they produce minimal pollen, they are loved by bees and other pollinators.
30. Joker Sunflower
The Joker sunflower is a beautiful, pollen-free hybrid with a light brown center and red-orange petals with golden tips. It stands around six to eight feet tall and features eight-inch blooms.
The Sunbright sunflower produces four- to six-inch blooms from summer through autumn, even during shorter days and cooler temperatures. A pollen-less sunflower, the petals are golden yellow, while the center disk is dark brown.
32. Goldy Honey Bear Sunflower
With soft and furry golden yellow double blooms with a green center, this variety is a fan favorite. It grows up to five to six feet tall and features thick and sturdy stems that make striking hedges and attractive screens.
33. Strawberry Blonde Sunflower
Strawberry Blonde sunflowers feature burgundy, sometimes pink petals with lemon-yellow tips and a dark central disc. They grow on long 24-inch stems that are perfect for cutting and displaying in floral arrangements.
The Pro-Cut Orange variety features four- to six-inch blooms with orange-yellow petals and a brown center disk. You can easily grow it from seed in the garden or indoors for a head start.
Giant Sungold produces fluffy, fully double flowers, each measuring up to ten inches across. Easy to grow and attractive to pollinators, this variety of sunflower is a great option for your backyard garden.
Ring of Fire Sunflowers feature gorgeous five- to six-inch flowers with large chocolate-brown centers surrounded by petals that start off coppery red and turn into golden yellow. It grows up to five feet tall and features long, sturdy stems.
Coconut Ice is another sunflower that comes close to white. This single-headed sunflower features creamy vanilla petals that turn to white at the edges and a contrasting plain chocolate center.
The beautiful Elite Sun Sunflower features bright yellow flowers that can grow to be around three feet tall. It’s ideal to use as a border around a garden or can even be grown in large containers.
39. Sonja Sunflower
Just three feet tall, the Sonia sunflower features four-inch blooms with wide golden petals and dark centers. This variety is ideal for cutting with eight or more strong branches on each plant and a long vase-life.
The Giganteus Sunflower features ten-inch blooms that contain a central disk the size of a dinner plate and cheery bright yellow petals in a tight circle around the center. This variety tends to attract butterflies, birds, and other pollinators.
Little Becka produces a plethora of large and pollen-less fiery copper-red sunflowers up to five inches across. They feature a dark central disc surrounded by red petals with golden-yellow tips.
Topolino Dwarf Sunflower produces medium-sized, single flowers with bright yellow petals and a dark center. They grow to just fifteen inches tall, making them perfect for border gardens or containers.
The Black Oil sunflower is the most popular type of sunflower used by commercial growers for vegetable oil production. They’re easy to grow and produce a high oil content that provides a wonderful source of food for songbirds and other wildlife.
Munchkin Sunflowers are charming and delightful flowers to grow. They feature exceptionally long-lasting blooms that grow above dwarf sunflowers that reach just two feet tall.
The Mongolian Giant sunflower is the largest species of sunflower. The plants can reach heights of 14 feet, and the blooms themselves can get as big as 18 inches across with bright and sunny yellow petals and brown center discs.
46. Moulin Rouge Dwarf Sunflower
Moulin Rouge features extremely dark, burgundy-red petals that turn almost black towards the center. Blooms reach eight inches in diameter and the plant itself grows to a height of four to six feet tall with stems large enough for cutting.
The Red Sun sunflower grows to five to six feet tall and is covered with dozens of ornamental blooms. The blooms are red to red-orange with just a hint of yellow around the center.
48. Taiyo Sunflower
An old Japanese variety, the Taiyo Sunflower produces a single large flower in varying tones of yellow, orange, and chocolate. They grow to about eight to ten inches and prefer full sun.
49. Starburst Lemon Aura Sunflower
The Starburst Lemon Aura sunflower features beautiful light yellow fully-double blooms. These delightful pastel blooms grow on top of long, sturdy stems that reach up to two feet tall.
The Super Snack Sunflower produces classic flowers with vibrant yellow petals and dark center disks that measure eight inches across. They are the best type of sunflower for snacking seeds.
Types of Sunflowers FAQs
How many different types of sunflowers are there?
There are a large variety of sunflowers available, each featuring different colors, sizes, and patterns of growth. Experts estimate that there are over 70 different species of sunflowers.
What is the difference between dwarf and tall sunflower varieties?
Dwarf sunflower varieties are shorter in height than other varieties, making them more suitable for small gardens or container planting. Tall sunflower varieties can reach up to twelve feet or even more.
Can you grow sunflowers in pots or containers?
Yes, there are plenty of dwarf varieties of sunflowers that can be grown in pots or containers. Look for Dwarf Sunspot, Teddy Bear, or Dwarf Yellow Spray, which are smaller varieties of sunflowers that are well-suited for containers.
