How about gracing your summer garden with some cheerful flowers that look like sunflowers? We have listed the best varieties below!
For a garden that’s easy to care for and still looks inviting, these flowers that look like sunflowers are a great choice. They bring the same cheerful feel as sunflowers but without all the extra work!
Flowers that Look Like Sunflowers
1. Denver Daisy
Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta’ Denver Daisy’
This short-lived perennial produces large 3-4 inch golden-yellow flowers with a dark brown center that might trick you into considering it a sunflower. However, the leaves show the real picture—Denver Daisy has a hairy and rougher texture than sunflower’s smooth foliage.
2. Gerbera Daisy
Botanical Name: Gerbera jamesonii
At first glance, Gerbera daisies might remind you of sunflowers with their vividly colored petals radiating around a central disc. However, it has a more varied color palette and a darker center, compared to the sunflower’s uniform yellow petals and large, seed-filled center.
3. Golden Bush Daisy
Botanical Name: Euryops pectinatus
Golden Bush daisies’ feathery, finely dissected foliage is the only way to safeguard you from the uncertainty created by those sunflowers resembling bright yellow blooms.
4. Black-Eyed Susan
Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta
Both of these plants share yellow to orange flowers with ray florets that can mislead anyone. But you can discern the truth by looking at the disk florets—sunflowers usually have larger disks than those commonly found in black-eyed susan.
5. False Sunflowers
Botanical Name: Heliopsis helianthoides
Justifying their name just right, these flowers look a lot like their famous cousins. But here’s the twist—they’re perennial and more compact, making them the perfect, low-maintenance doppelgänger for sunflowers in smaller gardens.
6. Zinnia
Botanical Name: Zinnia elegans
The yellow zinnias share their look with the ‘Honey Bear’ sunflower for their somewhat similar fringed look. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice more elongated, lance-shaped leaves around zinnias, while their competitors boast oval-shaped foliage.
7. Coreopsis
Botanical Name: Coreopsis lanceolata
They both belong to the same family—Asteraceae and share a decent form, but they differ in leaf structure—coreopsis has hairy, narrow, lance-shaped leaves compared to sunflower’s smooth, heart-shaped, or oval leaves.
8. Coneflowers
Botanical Name: Echinacea
Yellow Coneflowers give off serious sunflower vibes with their sunny hues and prominent centers. The catch? Their slender petals protrude backward from the central cone-shaped disk towards the stalk, drawing the line of unlikeness!
9. Treasure Flower
Botanical Name: Gazania
Gazanias could be mistaken for mini sunflowers with their bold, striking petals. But these treasures are known for their “now you see me, now you don’t” trick, closing up at night and opening in sunlight.
You can also grow them parallel to sunflowers for a dazzling display of blooms in your garden.
10. Cosmos
Botanical Name: Cosmos
Coming in shades of yellow and orange, cosmos can easily pass as sunflowers’ more delicate relatives. These flowers take the lightweight crown atop slender stems with feathery foliage that the dense florets of sunflowers can only dream of.
11. Pot Marigold
Botanical Name: Calendula officinalis
Pot Marigolds could be sunflowers in disguise with their vibrant yellow and orange blooms. However, they’re not just a pretty face; these blooms are culinary and medicinal champs, a trait sunflowers can’t claim.
12. Blanket Flower
Botanical Name: Gaillardia
Blanket Flowers might remind you of sunflowers with their fiery red, orange, and yellow petals. But unlike their towering relatives, these flowers are ground-huggers, often a common sight in drought-prone areas where sunflowers might struggle.
13. Bidens
Botanical Name: Bidens pilosa L.
With their sunny, small blooms, Bidens could be sunflowers’ little siblings. But they’re the more versatile, perfect for hanging baskets where their tiny, slender leaves speak of all the difference.
14. Fall Aster
Botanical Name: Symphyotrichum cordifolium
Fall Asters, particularly the yellow ones, are more like sunflowers’ autumnal counterparts. They keep the garden party going with their fall blooms long after the sunflowers have said their goodbyes.
15. Yellow Oxeye
Botanical Name: Buphthalmum salicifolium
Yellow Oxeye could be mistaken for a mini-me of a sunflower, with its bright yellow petals and dark center. But their narrower leaves and not-so-towering heights could be the perfect bet for those who love the sunflower vibe but prefer a more cottage-garden feel.
16. Cape Marguerite
Botanical Name: Dimorphotheca ecklonis
Don’t be fooled by their bright yellow blooms; Cape Marguerite’s petals are more delicate and daisy-like. Plus, it’s a bit of a sun worshipper; the flowers close up on cloudy days and in the evening, something a true sunflower is only ‘believed’ of doing!
