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You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunflower Update

Sunflower Update

by John Cole|  August 7, 201910:14 am| 52 Comments

This post is in: Garden Chats

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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.

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Reader Interactions

52Comments

  1. 1.

    Bard the Grim

    August 7, 2019 at 10:16 am

    John, you put the willow sunflowers too close to the house.

  2. 2.

    laura

    August 7, 2019 at 10:18 am

    Still awaiting photos of your bird beard….
    And your sunflowers look exceedingly cheery.

  3. 3.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 7, 2019 at 10:21 am

    Well done, John!

  4. 4.

    MazeDancer

    August 7, 2019 at 10:24 am

    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

    August 7, 2019 at 10:25 am

    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

  6. 6.

    Al Z.

    August 7, 2019 at 10:28 am

    Triffids!

  7. 7.

    catclub

    August 7, 2019 at 10:28 am

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

    what could go wrong?

  8. 8.

    chopper

    August 7, 2019 at 10:29 am

    @catclub:

    i eagerly await cole’s update. “sorry, it took a long time to type this out with only one arm…”

  9. 9.

    raven

    August 7, 2019 at 10:31 am

    Years ago I flew into Fargo and drove to Ottertail Lake. The sunflower fields were insane!

  10. 10.

    Anonymous At Work

    August 7, 2019 at 10:31 am

    @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

    August 7, 2019 at 10:35 am

    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

    August 7, 2019 at 10:35 am

    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

    August 7, 2019 at 10:38 am

    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.

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    August 7, 2019 at 10:38 am

    @raven:

    Them’re a lot of sunflowers

  15. 15.

    Sab

    August 7, 2019 at 10:39 am

    Nice looking shed.

  16. 16.

    stardus614

    August 7, 2019 at 10:40 am

    Humble brag. Kudos.

  17. 17.

    joel hanes

    August 7, 2019 at 10:40 am

    @SFAW:

    not Tnuctip sunflowers (I hope)

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

  18. 18.

    joel hanes

    August 7, 2019 at 10:42 am

    @Al Z.:

    Triffids

    That book scared the shit out of me when I was 12.

  19. 19.

    jl

    August 7, 2019 at 10:42 am

    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

    August 7, 2019 at 10:45 am

    @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/

  21. 21.

    Another Scott

    August 7, 2019 at 10:45 am

    Nice! Only 14-15 feet to go for the record! ;-)

    Seriously, great job.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    MomSense

    August 7, 2019 at 10:52 am

    Woodchipper????

    Nononononononono!

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

  23. 23.

    LarryB

    August 7, 2019 at 10:55 am

    Jon, Lock your windows. You just think they’re sunflowers.

  24. 24.

    kindness

    August 7, 2019 at 10:56 am

    Genus Sunflower Sequoia.

  25. 25.

    jl

    August 7, 2019 at 10:57 am

    @LarryB: Cole should try mushroom farming in his spooky garden. Maybe start with a cordyceps species.

  26. 26.

    rikyrah

    August 7, 2019 at 11:00 am

    They are beautiful, Cole.
    Tall, but beautiful :)

  27. 27.

    Spanky

    August 7, 2019 at 11:00 am

    @catclub: @MomSense: I seem to recall an incident from a few years back involving Cole the Elder and a chipper ….

  28. 28.

    Lapassionara

    August 7, 2019 at 11:03 am

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

  29. 29.

    Another Scott

    August 7, 2019 at 11:04 am

    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

    August 7, 2019 at 11:07 am

    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

    August 7, 2019 at 11:08 am

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

    Willow: “Hold my beer.”

  32. 32.

    jeffreyw

    August 7, 2019 at 11:11 am

    Peek-a-boo finch.

  33. 33.

    MomSense

    August 7, 2019 at 11:15 am

    @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.

  34. 34.

    MrSnrub

    August 7, 2019 at 11:21 am

    Are you sure you’re not growing Trifids?

  35. 35.

    PaulWartenberg

    August 7, 2019 at 11:29 am

    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.

  36. 36.

    jl

    August 7, 2019 at 11:32 am

    @MrSnrub: Trifles (trouble!) will pop out of the seed pods?

    I smell a Coletastrophe in the air.

  37. 37.

    randy khan

    August 7, 2019 at 11:32 am

    @Another Scott:

    That sounds like fun. Of course, the way these kinds of cases go, the good stuff might not come out until 2021.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 7, 2019 at 11:35 am

    @MomSense:

    And the great big saw came nearer and nearer…

    P.S. How’s the pup doing today? Still on the mend, I hope.

  39. 39.

    A Ghost To Most

    August 7, 2019 at 11:43 am

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

  40. 40.

    Amir Khalid

    August 7, 2019 at 11:50 am

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

  41. 41.

    CaseyL

    August 7, 2019 at 11:54 am

    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.

  42. 42.

    gvg

    August 7, 2019 at 11:55 am

    @PaulWartenberg</ Florida's sandy soils aren't firm enough a foundation. You need some clay type soils I think.

  43. 43.

    Kristine

    August 7, 2019 at 11:57 am

    @MomSense: ::remembering that scene in FARGO::

  44. 44.

    Ladyraxterinok

    August 7, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    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.

  45. 45.

    Comrade Carter

    August 7, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    Those things would look great, in Maryland.

  46. 46.

    hells littlest angel

    August 7, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    That’s average height for the Mongolian Giant variety.

  47. 47.

    hw3

    August 7, 2019 at 12:40 pm

    Ahh… West Virginia summers.

  48. 48.

    Just One More Canuck

    August 7, 2019 at 12:43 pm

    @laura: John is like Radagast

  49. 49.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 7, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    Cole obviously watched Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus and wanted a plant-based version in his backyard.

    We look forward to Mega Sunflowers vs Creeping Willow!

  50. 50.

    Michael Cain

    August 7, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    @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.”

  51. 51.

    Bill Arnold

    August 7, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    wrong thread

  52. 52.

    debbie

    August 7, 2019 at 5:49 pm

    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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