Thanks for contacting us about sunflowers. Most sunflowers are not perennial in Colorado, but the roadside sunflowers reseed freely so there are new plants each year. It would be simple to collect seed from these flowers as soon as they are done blooming. Because they are also great bird food, many of the seed heads get picked out by birds – so collect lots and sprinkle in your area this fall so they emerge next spring (just like they do naturally).

Lemon queen sunflowers are lovely and will grow well anywhere on the Front Range, but because they are hybrids they will not reseed, nor will the plant come back next year. They are annuals only.

There are two perennial sunflowers, the Maximillian sunflower and Jerusalem artichokes (not a real artichoke, but they do have an edible root that tastes similar to artichoke) that come back every year and do well here. Maximillian sunflowers grow very tall (though there may be some shorter varieties) with stalks covered with small flowers. These plants get very tall and heavy and can ‘flop’ if not staked. Jerusalem artichokes get tall, also,

 ·        More info: https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/annuals-perennials/1004-sunflowers/#:~:text=Among%20other%20perennial%20sunflowers%20is,in%20markets%20as%20%E2%80%9Csunchokes%E2%80%9D.

·        Do an internet search on these two perennial sunflowers to see images and then check out your local nursery!

Best of luck,

Karin