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Perennial

No. 0531 · Helianthus annuus

Lamplight Sunflower

Crop
Flower
Climate
Dry
Season
Summer
Origin
Great Hungarian Plain, Hungary

No. 0531The variety

A many-headed sunflower with small amber blooms, grown on farm edges for birds, bees and winter seed.

Grows best inHot summers and deep, dry soil

Seed passport

Perennial Seed Library · Season 2026

No. 0531
Origin
Great Hungarian Plain, Hungary
First documented
1929
Days to maturity
80 to 95 days
Height
1.8 to 2.2 m
Hardiness
Frost tender annual
Sun
Full sun
Spacing
60 cm
Flavor notes
Seed small, striped and rich in oil
Pledged open. Free to save and share.Hudson, NY

No. 0531Growth timeline

From sowing to saving seed.

Stage 01 of 06

  1. 01Late spring

    Sow

    Sow thinly where the plants are to flower, or in pots to plant out later.

  2. 02Day 7 to 14

    Germinate

    Thin to full spacing. Crowded plants make small flowers and little seed.

  3. 03Week 4 to 8

    Grow on

    Stake tall plants before they need it, and water in dry spells.

  4. 0480 to 95 days

    Bloom

    Cut freely for the house, but leave the best plants to bloom undisturbed.

  5. 05Late summer

    Seed heads

    Let the flowers fade and dry on the stem. Bag any heads the birds are watching.

  6. 06Autumn

    Save seed

    Cut the dry heads, shake or rub the seed free, and store it cool, dry and labeled.

No. 0531Story

The story of Lamplight Sunflower

Lamplight branches from the base and carries dozens of small amber flowers instead of one great head, so it blooms for weeks rather than days. Farmers on the Great Hungarian Plain grew it along field edges for poultry and songbirds, and as a late feast for bees.

It came to the library from a farm near Kecskemét whose records mention it in 1929. Goldfinches find it within a day of the first seeds ripening, so growers who want to save seed bag the heads early.

Grown by

3 growers this season

  • Ruth Adeyemi-Hart

    Hudson Valley, New York

  • Saida Yusupova

    Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

  • Dorin Matei

    Danube Delta, Romania

No. 0531Lamplight SunflowerPERENNIAL SEED LIBRARY

Lending list · Season 2026

Borrow this seed.

Members borrow up to twelve varieties a year. Seed is posted on the first Monday of the month in a hand-numbered paper packet, and all we ask in return is a little of your harvest and a few lines about how it grew.