I'm thinking mislabel, but that's just a gut feeling.

Looks like you've tried to standardize the photography for the two images, Kevin.

How are the two cultivars supposed to differ?

How much variability is there in petal colour and frilling and cone colours within the cultivars 'Siesta' and 'Salsa' and do the ranges overlap?

It's frustrating that on-line plant descriptions are invariably partial. You're given certain information for one cultivar, but not for another related one. I guess they just tell you what they think will make you buy.

Have read that 'Siesta' is the reddest of all the Helenium cultivars with blue rather than yellow contributing to the overall petal colour. Sounds like it should sell!

The plants in the images appear quite similar, but they could be different!

I should have also added, the 2 plants are growing a few feet apart, so basically the same conditions. I took the photos minutes apart and did not change the camera settings from one plant to the other.

The only difference is that plant #8 started blooming about a week later than #7.

Kevin

I think they both look more like siesta than salsa (based on online photos)...though neither is absolutely identical to any other (lol).

Perennials.com says that 'Salsa''s bloom time begins in early summer, while the bloom times of the other Mariachi series Helenium, including 'Siesta', begin in mid summer.

What to believe?
For instance; the Perennial.com image of 'Siesta' doesn't look like 'Siesta' at all.