SUNFLOWER FACTS and FUN

Did you ever wonder how Sunflowers got their scientific name Helianthus? It comes from two words, Helios meaning sun, and Anthos, meaning flower. A distinguishing quality of the sunflower is that its flowering head tracks the sun’s movement. This occurrence is known as "heliotropism."

SUNFLOWER FACTS:
Bees LOVE the Sunflower, mine have been covered with bees.

Sunflower seeds are used to produce numerous things like cooking oil, medicine, paint, animal feed and biodiesel.

There are over 60 species of sunflowers, growing in the various countries of the world.

A sunflower head is made up of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers that are joined together to a base. The large petals that are found around the edge of a sunflower are individual ray flowers.

A sunflower only requires 90 to 100 days to grow, which can be accomplished even in Wisconsin.

The tallest sunflower on record was grown in the Netherlands by M. Heijmf in 1986 and was 25' 5.5" tall.

Canada has the largest sunflower head on record...it measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point.

The shortest mature sunflower on record was just over 2 inches tall and was grown in Oregon using the Bonsai technique.

The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas.

The sunflower is the national flower of Russia which dates back to nearly 3000 years. The Great Russian ruler Peter while visiting Holland was so fascinated by the sunflower, that he took the seeds back to Russia.

The French word for Sunflower is tournesol which means "turn with the sun".

TIPS FOR GROWING SUNFLOWERS

Sunflowers need to be planted in an area that gets full sunlight.

Soak the sunflower seeds in some warm water the night before planting them.

Sunflowers should be planted after the danger of frost has passed.

The sunflower seeds should be planted at 6-inch distance apart and at the depth of 1 inch. After planting, make sure to water the soil well.

I like to use plastic water bottles with the top and bottom cut off to surround my new seeds and seddlings, I've had trouble with birds and quirrels eating my seeds before sprouting.

The sunflower seedlings generally germinate in a couple of weeks or so and reach maturity in about 80 to 90 days. I like to start my plants indoors in late spring to get a head start.

Seedlings need to be thinned at a distance of 12 to 18 inches; however, if they are grown in containers, they can be planted closer together. The roots of some varieties of sunflowers grow very deep and spread wide. If you use a container, make sure that is large enough.

Sunflower plants require staking. Make sure to add stakes when the seeds are planted, not to disturb roots after planting. I generally use a 6 foot stake and use nylon stockings to stablize stalks...nylons grow and expand with the sunflower stalk.

DO NOT use garden twine to tie sunflowers once they hit a growth spurt, this can cut into stalks and make them vulnerable for breakage.

The soil you use should be well drained and yet kept evenly moist. Add compost to any purchased garden soil to strengthen plants and fertilize every two weeks.