hi this is Yolanda vanan and in this
segment we're going to learn all about
the Mexican sunflower also known as
Tonia it's a beautiful sunflower from
Central America and the West Indies
tonas are found from Mexico into Central
America all the way out to all of the
West Indies and that includes Haiti and
all of the islands of the Dominican
Republic and Barbados all of these areas
so they like warm tropical climates that
are dry they don't really like real wet
climates so like other sunflowers they
like full hot sun with good drainage now
Tonia rotundifolia is a bulky annual
that can grow up to 5 feet tall and be
almost 3 feet wide and the leaves are
heart-shaped just like a
sunflower H but they come in great hot
colors like oranges and reds and
Scarlets and they're really really
beautiful and they're Hardy in zones 8
to 11 so Tonia is actually named after
the Dawn Goddess Aurora mythical
boyfriend
tonus and so I love the names that
people come up with for different plants
and especially when they have mythical
history Tonia need full hot sun and they
need lots of drought conditions in
between watering them so they don't want
to be wet all the time just like a
sunflower so start them from seed in the
spring let them bloom all summer long
collect the seeds in the fall and then
start them again the next year and if
you live in a warmer climate zone 8 or
warmer you can leave them outside and
they'll Bloom from year to year they're
a great great sunflower for your garden