Downy Sunflower Part Shade After the flowers fade

After the flowers fade

while Desert Milkweed supports our fluttering friends

but it handles summer heat and humidity like a champ

native to the southern United States

Downy Sunflower Part Shade After the flowers fadeHelianthus mollis Also commonly known as Ashy Sunflower. A species of sunflower widespread across much of the United States and Canada in prairies, roadsides, dry open woods, rocky glades, fields, and thickets. The leaves are mostly along the stem rather than crowded near the base, each egg shaped. Fine, soft, downy hairs cover the stems and leaves, giving it a blueish gray green appearance. Flowers boom abundantly through summer. It spreads