Whether or not your sunflowers will return in the coming years depends on their variety. For example, firecrackers, teddy bears, and mammoth sunflowers are annuals, meaning they only last a season. And Lemon queen, Jerusalem artichoke, and the western cultivator are perennials, meaning they will come back year after year for three years or more. Despite some varieties of sunflowers being annuals, they may reappear from dropping seeds and self-sowing.