Ahhh….blooming sunflowers; that’s when you know we have turned the corner of mid-summer and are heading into fall. I have claimed numerous flowers as my favorite but sunflowers really do hold a special place in my heart. I gravitate toward artwork with sunflowers and have numerous sunflower themed items in my home. They grow wild in and around the mountains in Flagstaff which is especially nice when out walking or hiking. The way their bright yellow petals pop against the blue mountain sky is a site to behold. We even used them as the theme for our late summer wedding party a decade ago. Several weeks ago, I posted a picture on Facebook of a blooming sunflower field on Hwy 109 with the caption “Who needs Tuscany when you can see this in your own backyard?” There aren’t a lot of sunflower fields in the area but when I see one I always stop to savor the sight.
Sunflowers are in a genus of some 70 species known as Helianthus. Most are native to North America but its name comes from the Greek words Helios (sun) and Anthos (flower). Their sunny large daisy like flower petals are predominantly yellow but they also present in orange, red, maroon and brown. I even saw a picture of a beautiful white one on Facebook. Their dark brown centers ripen into heavy seed heads often harvested and used for next year’s planting. One can roast and salt the seeds for eating but I haven’t tried this yet. Of course, the birds love them. I have large tall sunflowers blooming at the back of my four foot high raised beds and toward the end of the growing season the birds flutter away up top as I tend to my tomato plants below.
Even from seed, sunflowers are fast growing and mature between 85-95 days providing ample growing time even in our short season. There are both short and tall varieties and last year a local family friend had one grow some 15 feet tall in his backyard which garnered a picture in the Review. In the large seeded variety the seed heads can reach 12 inches in diameter which are great to add to your bird feeding station in the fall and which become a welcome winter treat as well.
An interesting feature of sunflowers is their heliotropic nature which means their flowers move from east to west along with the sun during the day and return to the east in the night where they await the next day’s sunrise. They are uber heat tolerant and mostly pest intolerant; attract bees along with birds and make excellent cut flowers; that is of course if you aren’t allergic to them. Unfortunately, I start sneezing like crazy when I bring them in the house.
I also read they like lighter well drained soil so their long tap roots can spread out and they are heavy feeders requiring nutrient rich soil. I think I planted too many in my raised beds this year and, as such; they robbed both the soil nutrients and sun from my poor tomato plants attempting to thrive down below. I don’t think the heat and high winds in June helped either. It’s funny; the tomato plants that self-seeded in the ground this year are doing better than my new tomatoes. Anyway, that’s another subject. Sunflowers should be watered around the root zone while getting established and watered weekly once thriving to encourage deep rooting and good stalk development; even so, some taller species require staking. Staggered planting is also recommended to extend their blooming season. I think I will stop there as my article spills onto a second page which is never a good thing for keeping reader attention. Enjoy the beautiful yellow blooms of the almighty sunflower while they last!