Helianthus annuus 'Velvet Queen'
Velvet Queen
Deep mahogany red with a velvet sheen, and not one but dozens of flowers per plant. A branching cultivar for those who want the sunflower in a darker, more dramatic colour — and want to please the bees.
- Scientific name
- Helianthus annuus 'Velvet Queen'
- Height
- 1.5–2 m (5–6.5 ft)
- Flower diameter
- 12–15 cm (5–6 in)
- Days to bloom
- ~95 from sowing
- Light needs
- Full sun
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Edible seed
- No, too small
- Pollen-free
- No, pollen present
Origin and breeder
'Velvet Queen' has been offered since the 1960s, among others by the British seed house Thompson & Morgan, and is one of the first popular coloured garden sunflowers. The dark colour comes from anthocyanin pigments in the ray florets. The cultivar holds no RHS Award of Garden Merit (RHS, 2023), but has been known for decades as a reliable, free-flowering colour sunflower. Unlike modern pollen-free cut cultivars, Velvet Queen keeps its pollen, which makes it valuable to pollinators.
How to identify it
- Deep mahogany to crimson ray florets with a velvety, matte sheen.
- Branching growth — several side stems, each with its own flower.
- Dark brown to black centre that contrasts strongly with the red.
- Medium heads of 12–15 cm (5–6 in), smaller than on single-headed cultivars.
- Bloom in waves over several weeks.
Growing notes
Velvet Queen thrives in full sun on ordinary, free-draining garden soil and needs less water than a giant cultivar such as Russian Mammoth. Give the plant 40–50 cm (16–20 in) of room so the side branches can develop. As a cut flower it lasts well in the vase, though the pollen leaves stains — for stain-free bouquets, choose a pollen-free cultivar such as ProCut Orange. For its pollinator value, see bees; for the growing basics, the page on growing.
The honest growing flaw
The velvet-red colour is not stable: in strong sunlight and late in the season the red fades to a dull bronze or rust tint, especially at the outer edge of the ray florets. And because the plant branches, it spreads its energy across many flowers, which therefore stay smaller than the single large head of an unbranched cultivar. For the deepest colour, cut the flowers young and keep them out of fierce midday sun. In a damp summer, also watch for mildew on the lower leaves.
Companion plants and substitutes
Velvet Queen shows best beside warm tones — orange cosmos, yellow rudbeckia or the bicolour 'Autumn Beauty' — or against a light background that lets the dark red glow. If you want an even darker, more stable red, look at 'Moulin Rouge' or 'Claret' in the cultivar database. For a similar branching cultivar in pale yellow there is Lemon Queen. The distinction between branching and single-headed cultivars is on the species page.
Pick this if…
you want a dark, dramatic colour, want to keep cutting for the vase, want to feed bees, or want a branching cultivar that flowers for weeks.
Don't pick this if…
you need stain-free bouquets, want one large show head, want to harvest seed, or want a colour that stays even all summer.
A packet of Velvet Queen seed typically costs £2–3 (€2–3). It is an open-pollinated cultivar, so you can save seed — though the offspring may vary slightly in colour.
Sources
- Thompson & Morgan — cultivar description 'Velvet Queen'.
- Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) — plant guide, 2023.