It’s that time of year when you should start deciding on what new blooms to add to your garden. You can go with the usual suspects that thrive in the summertime, like carnations, petunias, and daylilies, or you could opt for a twist on a classic. If you’re wondering what we have in mind, it’s chocolate sunflowers (Helianthus annuus).
Like a typical sunflower, this deep variety has the disk florets center with ray florets (the petals). What makes this flower standout is that the petals start with a dark chocolate color towards the center that lightens into a burgundy towards the outside. It definitely gives off a different vibe than the average yellow, sun-like flower, but it certainly won’t go unnoticed.
You can get chocolate sunflower seeds on Amazon from Seeds Needs, so you can grow your own this spring. The twin pack (with 40 seeds in each for a total of eight) is $8.85 and has earned an Amazon’s Choice badge for being highly rate, well-priced, and available to ship immediately.
The chocolate sunflowers are expected to grow from 48 to 60 inches and will mature to flowers that are 4 to 6 inches in diameter, as detailed by Seeds Needs. Just make sure you plant them in an area where they’re guaranteed to get a lot of sun. They’re categorized as an annual flowering plant, and are expected to bloom through the summer and die at the first frost.
As much as we love a classic sunflower, this is a cool variety that is sure to get your guests talking when they see it.
As the senior editor of social and social news, Caitlyn covers the tastiest, coolest, and strangest products for BestProducts.com, and she is the lead of social strategy for Popular Mechanics, Runner's World, and Bicycling Magazine; her work has also appeared in POPSUGAR, InStyle, Stylecaster, among others. In her free time (if there is such a thing), she’s probably watching reality TV, online shopping, or cuddling with her dog, Waffle. She is a Wawa-loving Jersey girl who went to Monmouth University for communication, journalism, and interactive media.
