Illustration
Ring of Fire
Helianthus annuus 'Ring of Fire'
Ring of Fire blooms from July through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Ring of Fire
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. Expect it to reach about 4.5 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Ring of Fire. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Ring of Fire
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Ring of Fire into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring. Planted then, it flowers from July to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Ring of Fire get?
4.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Ring of Fire in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Ring of Fire
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Ring of Fire about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Ring of Fire to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Ring of Fire's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 9 published sources on October 28, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- anniesannuals.comAnnie's Annuals & Perennialsheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- all-americaselections.orgAll-America Selectionsheight, spread, sun and bloom months and color
- benary.comBenaryheight, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- harrisseeds.comHarris Seedsheight, spread and bloom months and color
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxsun, water and trait tags
- quedlinburger-saatgut.deQuedlinburger Saatgutheight and bloom months and color
- cutflowers.ces.ncsu.eduNC State Extension Cut Flowersbloom months and color
- Missouri Botanical Gardensun and water
- University of Illinois Extensionheight
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
A garden form of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Its wild parent is native to 14 states.
Its parent's own page: Sunflower.
United States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming and 2 more
Also grows wild, but is not native, in 22 other states.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.