Heliopsis helianthoides Burnin (False Sunflower)

'Burning Hearts' False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides 'Burning Hearts') is a striking cultivar of a tough eastern North American prairie perennial. The species is native from southeastern Canada and the Great Plains east to the Carolinas (not the Pacific Northwest), but it is widely grown in PNW gardens for its long summer bloom and pollinator value.

'Burning Hearts' brings its own show: three-inch daisy flowers with deep red centers bleeding out to yellow-orange rays, plus dark purple-flushed stems and foliage that hold color all season. Bloom runs June through September.

Wildlife value is real. Heliopsis is a top native plant on bumblebee lists in Eastern prairies, and 'Burning Hearts' feeds bumblebees, native solitary bees, honeybees, and butterflies through late summer and early fall. Let the seed heads stand, and goldfinches and other finches work them through autumn.

Habit: upright clumping perennial, 3 to 4 feet tall, 18 to 24 inches wide.

Conditions: full sun, average moisture, any reasonable well-drained soil. Very cold-hardy (Zone 3 to 9). Deer-resistant and mildly drought-tolerant once established. Companions for a long-season pollinator bed: Echinacea purpurea, Monarda fistulosa, Rudbeckia fulgida, Solidago canadensis, native ornamental grasses.