Torch

Torch is the classic Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), a bold warm-season annual whose brilliant orange-red daisy flowers around a yellow-orange disk blaze from midsummer to frost. Tall and well-branched at roughly 4 to 6 feet, if somewhat gangly, it is a powerhouse for the back of the border and a top nectar source for butterflies and hummingbirds. It thrives on heat and drought in full sun and poor to average soil, resenting rich ground. Stake or shelter it from wind, as the tall stems can be brittle.