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Common Name: Showy Goldeneye
Scientific Name: Viguera multiflora
Synonym: Heliomeris multiflora
Family: Aster Family (Asteraceae)
Distribution: common and widely distributed in the Intermountain West
Habitat: foothill and middle montane habitats

Habit: perennial herb
Height: 1-3?
Spread: 1-3'
Foliage Color: deep green
Leaves: simple, opposite, lance-shaped
Flower Color: golden yellow
Flower Form: like miniature sunflowers ca 1-1.5" in diameter
Flowering Season: mid to late summer, long flowering period

Cultural Requirements: Prefers full sun to partial shade in rich to well-drained soils. Very responsive to fertility--low fertility keeps plants more compact. Fully cold-hardy. Drought hardy (i.e., needs no supplemental water after establishment on the Wasatch Front), but somewhat tolerant of overwatering.

Culture: Readily grown from seed. Can be direct-seeded into a weed-free seedbed in late fall. Seeds (achenes) are very small and must be sown on or near the surface. Seeds require 4-6 weeks of moist chilling to become nondormant, and they germinate freely in chilling. Plants produced as container stock and planted out in spring grow quickly and flower the first summer.

Uses and Notes of Interest: Looks good in a mass border planting or mixed with other robust wildflowers with similar requirements in an informal wildflower meadow. Deadheading and supplemental watering in midsummer should prolong bloom. After flowering is completed, plants may be cut off at the base. They may flower again if cut down earlier in the season. Will volunteer from seed if seedheads not removed. Seeds may be collected after the rays fall off and the flowering head dries. Seed shatter happens soon after.