That mammoth sunflower plant, three pictures

Yep, mammoth isn't the word for it. The sunflowers used to self-seed on our property, back in our old life, and some of them were direct descendents of the variety that I had planted on year, which was aptly named "Russian mammoth" and that it was.

This is an accounting of one plant in particular. It was growing in my asparagus patch, which was massive. A fifteen year old patch (boy did that hurt when I had to leave that behind when we made our big move in June 2010 to our new life here). I think that the sunflower particularly loved all the compost that I placed on that asparagus patch each spring, lots of duck, chicken and turkey poop went into growing some very good stuff, way back when. Enjoy the pictures. And, have a most wonderful day, CynthiaM.

This was the plant, the head was massive and so heavy that the plant looked like it would topple over, but the size of the stalk and the magnitude of root (discovered that when I tried to dig it up in the fall, shocking to say the least).

The flower head was so big, it almost looked like it had began to fold in half!! My Husband is a little over 6 feet tall, picture the size of the plant

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This plant I think would be close to about 14 feet tall

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Both hands to surround the trunk (I'll call it a trunk, cause that is what it was, like a tree!!!)

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wowsers that is totally awesome Cindi. I have been trying to grow sunflowers here for 3 years and they never grow for some reason. I will try and try again until i succeed, I can only pray mine get that big!

Nice story, Tara. You began the plants in your garage I get the impression. That was a mistake , well, in my mind it was. The mice were in that space and they know the smell of good seeds, and they were concentrated, in that they grew in flats/containers, call them what you will, no matter even if they were coated with a fungicide (the pink powder). They be smawt critters.

Sunflowers. I have grown many different cultivars, the Russian mammoth are the seed type, the striped sunflower, usually only one great huge head will mature (sometimes there will be teeny tiny ones, but pretty much insignificant). Then there are all other cultivars, so many pretty sunflowers and then the typical black oil sunflower seed. You know, the small black seeds that are used for bird seed mixtures. We grow them all.

It is interesting when I hear that some cannot grow sunflowers. Once upon a time a few years ago, when my oldest gal moved to this place where we all live, she planted the seed for some very pretty sunflowers and grew them on. Lots of lovely plants. She has never had the requirement to plant again, and there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of sunflower plants that come up all over the place. I have to pull hundreds out in the vegetable gardens, cause they would overrun the place. But I leave many untouched, leaving at least 8 to 10 inches between each selected seedling. The sunflowers are amazing how early they want to rear their beautiful heads from below the ground. The seeds drop off the mother plants, and they are not covered. They germinate without covering and send the little first root downwards to be covered by soil. It is funny, here the sunflowers even grow in the sides of the driveways and the middle of the parking areas, go figure. That is pretty compact sandy stuff, but they still will grow, that shocks the living daylights out me, these places where they can grow. If they can wiggle their first root into the growing medium, that has an incredible power to go downwards into the earth and grow on!!

These are your typical yellow and brown sunflowers, with many flowers on the same plant, and then there are a few that have more red tones in them. All beautiful. This year I am going to purchase some "special" sunflower seeds, as I know some that are extra pretty and those will too grace the gardens here...

Sunflowers love heat, sunflowers love to be fed. That is the biggest thing with sunflowers, they are EXTREMELY heavy feeders, love boron and compost. Add lots of compost to them as they grow, or incorporate that into the soil before you commence the sowing of seed. Also loving sunshine and lots of room between each plant. They are reasonably drought resistant. Sometimes if you can find a way to cover the seed by artificial means, so nothing can get in there and eat the seeds, this will benefit you by having the seeds germinate, which germinate in pretty cool soil and a very rapid germination. Four for the sow, two for the crow, one for the row and one to grow.

Just thought I would bring some pictures of what one of the vegetable gardens looked like here last year, with the sunflowers surrounding the area, enjoy. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

This is a picture of the garden that I grew the garlic, beets, lettuces, chards, parsnips, broccoli and peppers in. The other, larger things were grown in other areas. I thought it would be nice to border that garden with canna lilies, Victoria salvia and keep the sunflowers along the west, south and east sides only. Made for a very pretty vegetable, flower garden. The garden beds had been amended greatly with the addition of fertilizers from the chickens and horses, along with compost. The climate here is very dry, but had a nice, cloudy summer with enough intermittent rainfalls that I only had to water a couple of times. The addition of lots of peat helped to retain moisture and also to reduce the alkalinity of the soil to a near neutral point. On the coast, we we lived for most of our life, the soil is acidic, up here in the Okanagan the soil is alkaline (well, it is here anyways). All the sunflowers are self-seeded here.

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This is a picture of self-sown group of sunflowers, beside the barn, they grow in other spots, in gravel too, simply amazing.

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This is a picture of one of the bee gardens that were nursed for the bees. This was back on the coast, in our old life. Jungle stuff grew there because of the warm and humidity and moisture. The sunflowers grew in groups everywhere, again self-seeded, only once upon a time were they ever planted, never to be planted again, Mother Nature took care of the sowing of the seeds herself.

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I used to know an old fella who said, "A sunflower will grow on a piece of plywood."

But he never saw our place. We used to grow them fine. I have a picture of a Mammoth that the kids are holding that is about the same size as yours. But lately it has been hard. I think the squirrels go after the seeds when we plant them. Last year I started some inside and the slugs when at them as soon as they moved outdoors. Any suggestions would be welcome.

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Ooooh Tara, for a place that has such a short lived summer, you sure do have a whole lotta really beautiful stuff going on there. Greens, colours, awesomely beautiful. No worry about the winter blues. These pictures that we resurrect from years gone by encourage us to know that there is beauty and sunlight, coming round that corner. No matter what corner that is, be it soon, mid or late spring, or even early or mid summer. These pictures are beautiful and it makes us feel that there is still gonna be an end to the dismal time of Ol' Man Winter's shroud. I got a real kick out of Fixins in the forefront of that massive sunflower, smiling that big smile. Bet that is about as big as they can get in such short summers, smiling. Beautiful picture. And the picture of the five dogs, beautiful. Sorry that Micky Makes was not there for the June picture, I know that sadness.....

You certainly keep a very beautifully well-groomed yard, I noticed the perfectly manicured borders around the trees, nice...I like that. My old life was much like that, so much attention to the detail of beautiful borders.

Your greenhouse, well, greenhouse palace for surely, what a beautiful object, and I love objects. That must be a most wonderful place to spend some very nice times. Just something about the warmth and humidity of a lovely greenhouse, you got a really nice one goin' on there. Loved the chairs, looked like they might be on the east side? Beautiful afternoon shade, such a nice place to sit and well, just, well, observe life.

Couldn't really tell too well. But, between the two trees, with the lovely borders, is that like a raised pond? Kind of looked like it, but couldn't really see too well. I am kind of snoopey, smiling. That looked pretty ding darn nice too. Well, you have a pretty ding darn nice place, especially for a place that harbours such long winters!!

These pictures are lovely. And hint, hint...I bet alot of our forum friends could bring beautiful pictures of their summers past, to make us all love what we see, and help us all to know, again, that the days will be long and wonderful, full of sunshine and promise of a great 2012 to come....bring on pictures, you know you wanna!!! Just do it, make us all happy, raise those winter blued serotonin levels, days of sunshine and nights that can go on til the cows come home !! Have a most wonderful night and days to follow...CynthiaM.

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Higgins, your pictures are so loverly!

Miss Cynthia, is that a record breaking sunflower!?