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You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunflower Update

Sunflower Update

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Apparently I have somehow managed to grow the world’s largest sunflowers, as they are all about 12′ tall and some are closer to 15-16′.

I’m gonna need to borrow a wood chipper to compost the damned things:

That’s the stem at about 4′, not even the base which is bigger. Here are the midgets at only 12′:

Ridiculous.

Reader Interactions

52Comments

  4. 4.

    MazeDancer

    Giant sunflowers are wonderful. Especially how they follow the sun.

    Last year, had a bumper crop and could really see the sun tracking in action. They would face sunrise, go with the flow at noon, and end the day looking West.

    Mine were a mere 8-10 feet, but still inspiring.

  5. 5.

    Jackie

    Years ago a solitary sunflower planted by a bird? took off and grew taller than our 2-story house! The diameter of the head was a good three feet. Someone spotted it and the local newspaper published a photo of it. It made a ridiculous amount of sunflower seeds lol

  7. 7.

    catclub

    I’m gonna need to borrow a wood chipper to compost the damned things:

    what could go wrong?

  10. 10.

    Anonymous At Work

    @catclub: I give that plan half-a-thumb up, the top rating possible!

    @John, do you see why biofuels are possible with weeds like that? Imagine, all of Iowa covered in weeds, blowing their seeds out into the air…
    (This trolling is not a paid submission from any company, just my post-coffee sarcasm)

  11. 11.

    SFAW

    I’ve heard about plants being “leggy,” but I think your sunflowers are beyond that.

    Fortunately, they’re not Tnuctip sunflowers (I hope)

  12. 12.

    wv blondie

    I don’t know about your county, but here in the Eastern Panhandle our county fair has a contest for the tallest sunflower. You should enter! You’ve obviously got a talent for it.

  13. 13.

    joel hanes

    Some largeish finch thinks of that photo as food porn.
    When the seeds are ripe, watch for grosbeaks and cardinals.
    Maybe your house finches, though I think they like smaller seeds.

  17. 17.

    joel hanes

    @SFAW:

    not Tnuctip sunflowers (I hope)

    Petals not reflective silver.
    Also, Thurston not converted to a pile of ash.

  19. 19.

    jl

    Wow, that sunflower stalk is almost as fat as Cole’s fingers. Amaaaaazinnggg!
    Where did Cole get those magic sunflower seeds, and when the tops of the plants disappear above the clouds, I demand pix when Cole climbs one of them.

    Edit: what’s at the top? I predict a giant Tunch.

    Thanks for scary monster sunflower plant pix.

  20. 20.

    joel hanes

    @Anonymous At Work:

    do you see why biofuels are possible

    A complete revolution in agriculture that would greatly decrease carbon emissions and chemical inputs and build soil is possible, partly using the perennial relatives of sunflowers from the genus Silphium.

    Donate to The Land Institute and help save the world.
    https://landinstitute.org/

  22. 22.

    MomSense

    Woodchipper????

    Nononononononono!

    I’m having visions of the black knight from Holy Grail.

  28. 28.

    Lapassionara

    My sunflowers will not stand upright. I don’t know how these have gotten so tall without being staked.

  29. 29.

    Another Scott

    OT: Wonkette: Strozk Strzko Strzok sues FBI and DOJ for wrongful termination:

    He’s baaaaaaaaack! He’s been keeping his head down for a year, but now former FBI super agent Peter Strzok is back in DC, and he’s suing the FBI and DOJ for wrongful termination and violation of his First Amendment rights. Calling it “indisputable that his termination was the result of President Trump’s unrelenting retaliatory campaign of false information, attacks, and direct appeals to top officials,” Strzok’s lawyer Aitan Goelman demanded that his client be reinstated with back pay or compensated for lost income. If he survives a motion to dismiss and gets to discovery, this one’s going to be a hot mess.

    […]

    (Emphasis added)

    OhPleaseOhPleaseOhPlease…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  30. 30.

    JMG

    Was your Mom angry when you traded the cow for the magic sunflower seeds? No matter how tall they get, don’t climb one of the stalks!

  31. 31.

    The Dangerman

    Apparently I have somehow managed to grow the world’s largest sunflowers…

    Willow: “Hold my beer.”

  33. 33.

    MomSense

    @Spanky:

    I must have repressed that memory. I am terrified of woodchippers anyway, since I used to watch my grandfather operate one when I was a little girl. He never hurt himself – but all those whirring blades, loud noises, and stern warnings made an impression.

  35. 35.

    PaulWartenberg

    How the hell are they not bending/snapping from the weight?

    We tried growing sunflowers in Florida, and they would grow to a certain height and then… the flowers would topple over because the seeds got so numerous and heavy. It was heartbreaking.

  39. 39.

    A Ghost To Most

    And here we were, diggin’ on our 8′ sunflowers. They didn’t get planted until June, because of snow/cold.

  40. 40.

    Amir Khalid

    Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
    That grow so incredibly high …
    Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

  41. 41.

    CaseyL

    Wow! I am impress :)

    Giant sunflowers always give me a pleasurable horror-frisson, because once their seeds are formed they look to me like alien scouts. An entire field of giant sunflowers is incredible spooky, IMO.

  44. 44.

    Ladyraxterinok

    In the 80s, when I still lived in IA, there were many farms, areas around Ames with sunflowers this tall. IIRC that was new then.

  50. 50.

    Michael Cain

    @Anonymous At Work: “do you see why biofuels are possible with weeds like that?”

    With all due respect, biofuels are the fantasy we tell ourselves in hopes that we won’t have to start buying electric cars soon.

    The back third of John’s back yard, kitted out with PV panels, would produce enough electricity for transportation to measure meaningfully in “miles per day”. Biofuels from the same area would be a similar number, but in “miles per month.”

  52. 52.

    debbie

    They’ve been extra tall around here too. What I’ve really noticed is that they don’t follow the sun like they used to. It’s like they’re shunning the sun.

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