The Mammoth Sunflower

by Cody A.
(Pittsburgh, PA.)

Giant Sunflower

What child doesn't stand in awe of a twelve-foot flower? I still gaze in wonder at these giants. Oh of course there are many more annual varieties that can steal the show, but the Mammoth Sunflower is an icon of summer to me.

I spent most of my garden photo time taking pictures of my giant sunflowers that I plant at the edge of our property line. The stalks as thick as my forearm, the leaves as big as sheets of paper, and the flower with all those big sunflower seeds packed tightly in the center. The bumblebees love my sunflowers, spending hours hanging out amongst the giant blooms. They don't even pay any attention to me as I take pictures with the bright blue sky as the background.

In Southwestern Pennsylvania I have no problem growing the giants. My soil prep consists of a bit of tilling to allow easy establishment of strong roots. I don't even water them faithfully, nor do I feed them. I suppose if I did, I would get sunflowers so big that they would scare the neighbors! At the end of the season when the seeds are fully developed, the birds have a food supply.

Cut of the top of the plant where the seeds are, and hang them where the birds can get to them if you need to remove the plants before winter. I've got a heavy duty lawn tractor, so I just run the stalks down with the blades running. You might not want to do that with a small riding lawn mower since the stalks could stop the blades on a smaller mower.

A buck's worth of seeds can plant a row of these bright yellow giants in your yard. Just be aware that they are big when grown. This is also a great flower to introduce children to the joys of gardening.

Sunflower Seeds on eBay