Sawtooth Sunflower, Helianthus grosserratus, 4 Live Plants

ABOUT US

Midwest Perennials is the name of our plant nursery on Gardening Life specializing in growing perennials native to the US. Our sister nursery, MilkweedOne sells everything milkweed. From container grown plants to seeds we are working with 40 species of milkweeds from across the continental US. We began both of these businesses to offer high quality plants to our customers and to back those plants up with good advice and service. We are nursery professionals from Ohio with decades in the business and a staff with degrees in Botany and Entomology, so we know our plants and our bugs! In fact, we’re trying to help you set the table for insects in your home landscape (especially butterflies!) and to help bring much needed diversity to our home landscapes and gardens. Please read the entire listing below as it contains pertinent descriptions of our products and care guides which change with the seasons. We want to ensure you know exactly what you’re buying so that there are no surprises or disappointments when you open the box. These descriptions and instructions are designed to give you the best chance for success. Regardless of what time of year you are buying, our plants have been carefully grown and are healthy, even if they are dormant. We encourage you to contact us prior to planting if you have questions.

WHAT YOU’RE BUYING/CARE

We are offering four (4) Sawtooth Sunflower, Helianthus grosseserratus, plants in 1.5-pint containers (3.5″ X 3.5″ X 5″ deep). Our plants are grown from seed for this growing season or may be two years old. Sawtooth Sunflower is an easily grown plant preferring medium wet, medium and medium dry soil in full or part sun. Overall height at maturity is about 8′. We recommend a spacing of 3′. Yellow flowers are produced August through October and are attractive to native pollinators. This plant is native to the eastern half of the United States; USDA hardiness zones 3-9. This description is a generalization; please check the current USDA Hardiness Map if you have questions. If you’re trying to grow this species outside of its native range, we suggest you research the conditions it is found in naturally and try to mimic that. Our plants are shipped in custom designed containers to ensure they reach you in the same way they left here; healthy and ready to grow. This packaging system requires each plant get an individual box and four (4) individual boxes are bundled together into a single shipping box so you must buy 4 plants or in multiples of 4 plants. You are welcome to mix and match the species you purchase, just message me through the store at checkout telling me how many of each species you’d like. If we don’t get special instructions from you, we’ll send four (4) of this species. The picture of the flowering plant in this listing is for reference purposes only. In general, we would not send plants in flower as they’d be too tall to fit in the shipping box.

EARLY SPRING, SPRING AND SUMMER SALES/PLANTING AND CARE

If you are purchasing plants during the growing season, they may be up to 12″ tall which is the maximum size of the shipping box. If you’re purchasing in early spring, they’ll be smaller as we do not heat our greenhouses to reduce our carbon footprint. Purchases made in mid to late spring (in central Ohio) are at or are approaching this size, but this will ultimately depend on the weather. If we have a warm spring, plants will size up more quickly. If it’s a cool spring the plants may lag. The size of your plant may vary but we ship the largest plants first. Please review the CARE information above to determine the best sun exposure and soil moisture for this species and site the plant accordingly. A proper sized hole for planting perennials is a little larger and a little deeper than the size of the pot. After excavating the hole break up the soil removed into relatively fine sized particles, no chunks. You may add a handful of peat moss to the soil you’re using to fill around the roots to help with moisture retention. Pop the plant from its pot taking care not to disturb the roots as much as possible. Place the plant in the hole and fill in any remaining areas around the root ball with your excavated soil. You don’t want to plant it too deep or too shallow. If you keep your soil level and the pot soil level even, then you’re good. Firm (not pack or stomp) the soil around the root ball and water in thoroughly. For the next couple of weeks check to see that the plant isn’t wilting. If it is, water thoroughly ensuring watering goes deep to the roots. We hesitate to tell you to water them with some sort of a frequency (i.e., daily, weekly, etc.) because this could lead to overwatering issues. The bottom line is this: water only when needed and the best way to judge that is to look at the soil around the plant and the plant itself. If the soil around the plant is dark(er) then moisture is present so don’t water. If the plant appears to be flagging or wilting, then by all means water it thoroughly. A little bit of wilting won’t hurt. New vegetative growth or flowers forming is a good sign that your plant is becoming established. If there is still a danger of frost in your area, take precautions to protect the plants until consistently warm weather has arrived. You may fertilize lightly at planting time if you are in your growing season. If you’re planting during fall or even winter, then hold off on fertilizing until spring has returned to your area.

Please note that our plants are grown without the use of pesticides or fungicides. This means they can be used as caterpillar food right out of the box. In the nursery they are grown in tight groups which can cause some lower leaves to yellow or fall off. Some leaves may have spots or even some signs of chewing if caterpillars have been working them. This is a cosmetic issue not a plant health issue.

LATE SUMMER, FALL AND WINTER SALES

During late summer and fall native perennials begin to prepare for the winter dormant season. How they do this depends on the species but, by and large, they do this by stopping growth, dropping leaves and the stem dying back to an underground root, taproot or perhaps a rosette of leaves at ground level. All of this is normal and to be expected. The root/taproot has buds on it that are the promise of next year’s leaves and blooms. In other plants a crown of tightly packed leaves forms which is able to survive winter. The taproot in function is much like a carrot in that it absorbs water, fertilizer and minerals, stores food reserves and anchors the plant, the taproot can withstand the rigors of winter and will grow again in the spring. Here in the nursery, we’ve been watering and fertilizing all summer to promote the best root/taproot growth possible. All of this is designed to give the plant energy to get through winter and to get growing in spring.

If you’re purchasing plants in September, you can expect the plants to be cut back to fit within the shipping box. They may have few or no leaves and with a stem that is green to greenish and perhaps beginning to turn brown as it prepares for winter. Here in the nursery, we’ll have our first frost, on average, about October 15 so these plants are getting ready for that eventuality as early as September. There’s nothing special you need to do with the plant…just plant it as outlined above and to give it a little bit extra TLC by applying a layer of mulch about 2″ thick to act as a blanket. Do not fertilize until you start to see new growth next spring.

If you’re purchasing plants in October or later, they may be cut back to right above the media. The planting procedure is the same as outlined above. What you’re buying is a dormant but established taproot with one year’s worth of growth and nutrition stored in it which will produce a better plant next year (when it’s two years old) than one grown in a single year from seed. This dormant, potted plant is a better product than other, barerooted plants being sold. The root is the most important part of the plant and barerooting the plant causes significant root damage. Our packaging system allows us to send dormant, potted plants which have healthy, undamaged roots. Please see the picture of the dormant plants in the images above to familiarize yourself with what you’ll be receiving if you’re buying plants late in the year. While this picture is actually of dormant Swamp Milkweed most other perennial species we sell will be cut back significantly and so would look similar.

A NOTE FROM THE GROWER…
Thank you for considering purchasing our plants! We treat them very well throughout the growing season, so you’ll be rewarded with strong plants and eventually lovely flowers. Please note again that you’re buying plants from a nursery in OHIO. If you’re purchasing plants during the OHIO growing season (roughly April to August) you’ll be receiving plants that are green and growing vigorously. If you’re purchasing in them in September and later (this being fall or winter in OHIO) our stock may be going dormant or be totally dormant when you receive it. Dormancy is a natural, physiological response to shortening days and colder temperatures which allows the plant to survive the rigors of winter. Even if these plants are lucky enough to be going to Florida or any other warmer climate they’ll still be attuned to Ohio’s climate until they are acclimated and grown in your climate.

During the growing season we prune all of our plants as necessary to fit them into their shipping boxes. We cut them back to nearly the top of the media for late season sales and to overwinter them. Most of our plants sold late in the growing season (October through March) will not have any or very few green leaves. This is the natural way the plant prepares for winter. Plant the root/taproot and the potting soil mass as a single unit as you would a plant in full leaf. Do not plant the plastic pot and do not remove the taproot from the soil mass as this would only injure the roots. Please see full planting instructions above. Please see picture labelled “Dormant Milkweed” if you’re ordering during Fall, Winter or early Spring. This picture accurately illustrates what most of our plants look like going into winter and through early spring.

The picture(s) on this listing are for reference purposes only so you can see what the flowers look like. You should not expect to get a plant that is in bloom because most would be too tall to ship.

Please read the entire description and look at the pictures so that you aren’t unpleasantly surprised when you open the box. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me through this site.

Sorry for all the disclaimers but they have become necessary to try and further educate gardening newcomers to the wonders of native perennials and buying plants online. Some buyers have purchased our plants in November and December expecting to receive milkweeds that are in flower and that will never be the case for our milkweeds. This would understandably be a huge disappointment when you opened the box and we’re trying our best to prevent that from happening. We’d rather provide too much information than not enough so that you can make the best gardening decisions! Thank you! Rev. 2/8/2021