Helianthus Annuus Sunflower
SUNFLOWER
This is the king of the annuals, growing several yards tall, with a thick stem as hard as a broomstick and almost as strong. The leaves feel slightly rough. From the beginning of summer, sunny flower heads, 10 inches or more wide, develop at the top of the plant. Within the ring of petals, there are hundreds of tubular florets, each one of which may produce a single sunflower seed. The tubular florets are arranged in perfect harmony, forming patterns in relation to one another, criss-crossing spirals in a ratio that accords with the golden section, the ideal proportion, as propounded by the artists of the Renaissance. They, of course, copied this natural measurement from plants and not the other way round.
Bees visit these spirals of tubular florets for the pollen and nectar that they find there, and golden yellow sunflower honey is to be seen on many a breakfast table. As the tubular flowers fall out of the disc, the fat seeds appear, within the same pattern of spirals. If you want to harvest them, you must be quick at this stage and cut off the flower and dry it in as warm and airy a place as possible. This is because the great tits, as soon as they discover the seeds, will be clinging to the drooping flower heads to peck the seeds out of them. In short, sunflowers provide a feast for both people and birds. To achieve the optimum effect, it is best to sow common sunflowers and not bother about cultivars developed especially for the cut-flower trade. Of course, the “yellow snow” of the pollen falling out of the flowers does annoy some people, which is why “improvers” have developed varieties without pollen - but has no-one thought of the bees?
Sow sunflower seed directly in the garden from April. The seedlings tolerate light frost. Most annuals will not benefit much from being sown early, but sunflowers will definitely be at an advantage, and will grow taller in the course of the summer. They stop growing as soon as the flowers develop. Even plants sown early in the year do not come into flower until July-August, because the budding process is determined by the number of hours of daylight. Here again, of course, there are always those who cheat: in this case, the improvers who cultivate varieties for the cut-flower market. They have developed varieties that are less sensitive to the amount of daylight.
Sunflowers have shallow roots and are sometimes blown over. A support inserted deep into the earth will keep them upright. The plants absorb a lot of water from the soil and grow considerably taller in fertilized soil. This applies not only to the plants, but also to the flowers which may grow up to 12 in wide.
Sunflowers come in all sizes and colors. The flowers are single, semi-double (with more petals round the edge), or fully double, in which (many of) the tubular florets have been turned into sterile ray flowers. Helianthus annuus ‘Italian White’ - see Helianthus debilis ‘Italian White.’
Growers of flowers for cutting purposes pinch out the growing tips of Helianthus annuus ‘Prado Gold’, which then ramifies and bears about five flowers, each one about 6 in wide. They are deep yellow, with dark centers. The plants grow to about 3 ft tall. Helianthus annuus ‘Prado Red’ has the same characteristics as ‘Prado Gold,’ except that the color of the flowers varies from orange to brownish red. They produce hardly any pollen. Helianthus annuus ‘Sunrich Orange’ is quite a different kind of flower grown for cutting. Each plant bears just one flower on a stem as tall as a man. A ring of yellow petals encirclessunny, warm position and loose, well-drained soil.
