Jul 25
2010
Bigger Than Mammoth Sunflowers
I never really understood the interest in growing monster vegetables to see how big they can get. To me, the point of vegetable growing is to eat the things. But more often than not once a vegetable reaches gigantic proportions it is no longer edible.
But perhaps it’s akin to my fascination with sunflowers. I have grown short, bouquet-worthy sunflowers. I have grown stunning, nearly black sunflowers. I have grown dainty sunflowers. But what I really adore is a colossal sunflower. Towering sunflowers. The kind of sunflowers that makes visitors stop and say, “Is that real?”
Until this year the tallest sunflowers I have grown were Mammoth. They grew to about 8 or 9 feet, towering over the rest of the garden.
But this year I grew Titans—the biggest yet. I measured them this morning at 12 feet tall.
Visitors ask me if they are staked because it seems so improbable that a flower on a single stem that tall could stand up without assistance. But the stalks are nearly as round as my wrist, so they are standing tall all on their own.
Now, what’s bigger than a Titan?
July 25th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Those are some cool sunflowers. Mine didn’t do much. I think the cooler weather and too much rain. I may try to grow more (shorter ones). Yours are lovely giants.~~Dee
Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings´s last blog ..Native flora perform double duty in the garden
July 25th, 2010 at 9:35 am
LOVE them. When I was a lad, I would see the very mature ones, the flowerheads of which were very droopy and bent with their seed loads, and say, “Look, they’re checking out their new sneakers!”
dave bockman´s last blog ..Howdy Partner…
July 25th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Those tall sunflowers remind me of France. Is that what does it for you? They are awesome.
Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog ..Feeling Austin- Texas
July 25th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Hi Robin. These are absolutely gorgeous! I’m so jealous! My Mammoth’s seem to have some sort of rust this year. Have you heard of that?
July 25th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
OMG, Wow! Those are tall sunflowers! Stunning! We grew the small ones this year. And I just got a packet of Mammoth ones that I am dying to try. How long did it take for these Titans to get that big?
meemsnyc´s last blog ..Grapevines- before and after
July 25th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Wow, Robin! Your Sunflowers have really become big
That’s impressive. Right now we’re trying to grow some too. It seems like they’ll become big too, but I’m wondering if they’ll become just as big as yours.
Do you have any good tips on how to make Sunflowers grow so tall?
Best,
Anette
Anette the Gardener´s last blog ..Repotting Plants In a Container Garden
July 25th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
That’s impressive, considering they were started from a seed in the spring. I’m adding Titans to my list for next year.
Carol´s last blog ..Not Every Lily Is A Lily
July 25th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Wow, are those real? Seriously, I think I might need to try those next year!
Leslie´s last blog ..Ideas I Am So Stealing!
July 25th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Who sells Titan seed? And have you tried Sunzillas? Renee’s sells them
Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening´s last blog ..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day July 2010
July 26th, 2010 at 7:47 am
What a stunning sunny statement your sunflowers are. Bet the neighbours are impressed and the bees
Laura
PatioPatch´s last blog ..A Garden Full of Wishes
July 26th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Those are fantastic sunflowers. We have sunflowers fields in our town – for oil production – but I don’t think they grow this tall.
commonweeder´s last blog ..Cultivating Family
July 26th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Robin, do you harvest the seeds or let the birds do it? The squirrels would need ladders, I think.
Susan´s last blog ..Crimson and clover
July 26th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Actually, it would be great to see them massed in the back field here, wouldn’t it? Now that would remind me of France!
July 26th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Hi Shannon,
These seem to have some sort of rust too. Now that I think about it, when I have grown Mammoth sunflowers they had some rust too. But the flower outruns it and I usually end up just picking off the yellowing lower leaves since I don’t want to spray near the fruits and veggies.
Robin
July 26th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Hi Meems,
I went back to my Lee Valley garden journal to see if I recorded the date that I planted the seeds. Of course, I didn’t. But I did a lot of planting in mid-April (non-specific notes) and I think that’s when they went in.
Robin
July 26th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Hummm. Tips? Well, give them plenty of room. Water regularly. Plenty of sun. That was helpful, huh?
Robin
July 26th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Hi Kathy,
I bought these seeds from Baker Creek. If you try them you should know that there were only about 8-9 seeds in the package. They all germinated and it’s enough to fill the space, but that seems like a very few seeds to me.
I just read about the Sunzillas in the latest issue of the American Gardener. 16 feet! Those will definitely be on my list next year.
Robin
July 26th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Hi PatioPatch. No neighbors here to see it! But the UPS guy likes them!
July 26th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I just leave the sunflowers in place over the winter. The birds always pick them clean. No real squirrel problems around here. I have baffles on the bird feeders.
July 27th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Sunflowers make a garden so cheerful! I love your massive stand. The rains last year didn’t allow us a single bloom. So I’m reveling this year in our colony. They seem to watch over all the goings-on in the garden.
Thanks for sharing your source. I may try some giants next time around.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Love them!
I grew Paul Bunyan’s and they climbed to 14 feet.
Sending good wishes,
Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
August 1st, 2010 at 9:12 am
Beautiful pictures. Didn’t plant any this year, but I love sunflowers. Can’t believe they are so tall.
August 14th, 2010 at 5:47 am
Very impressive sunflowers!!!
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