# My Sun Flowers



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

Ya Like um?


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Nice.... Reminds me of being a kid visiting my gramps. He loved his sunflowers....... No offense Rich. That isn't a wise crack.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

itzDirty said:


> Nice.... Reminds me of being a kid visiting my gramps. He loved his sunflowers....... No offense Rich. That isn't a wise crack.


---------------------------------
My own Grandma grew big sun flowers on south side of her house. She would dry the seeds and bake them in her wood fired oven. I decided to pant a couple of them myself. I don't have any idea just how much taller these flowers will grow. The flower is pointing directly toward the sunrise. Maybe I just found out how sun flowers got their name?


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Sounds right to me. My grandma would bake the seeds also. A gas oven though. Great folks they were. My gramps was from WV. He always liked to grow his own veggies and make his own drink. Grandma would participate in the food....... not the drink.....


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

They look awesome there Rich, a 4 gal. pot would be better as they will keep growing right to the sun HA!! and less chance for them to blow or fall over. Always wanted to see how tall I could grow one at my place But with everything else going on just never seemed too, they have them at our fall fair on display at around 27 feet.


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Nice sunflowes Rich, we always grew them growing up. Grandma said they attracted birds to eat all the other bugs.


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

Deer love them too. They're fun to grow and to see how far they'll go. Never had much luck with them past 6 foot. Could've been the type of flower too. Let us know how they do Rich.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

hassell said:


> They look awesome there Rich, a 4 gal. pot would be better as they will keep growing right to the sun HA!! and less chance for them to blow or fall over. Always wanted to see how tall I could grow one at my place But with everything else going on just never seemed too, they have them at our fall fair on display at around 27 feet.


-----------------------------------------------------
Mine are not actually growing in the bucket. I simply dug out a round bed for them in my yard. Something nipped one of the plants off during very first night. I figured it was a rabbit, so I cut the bottom out of an ice cream bucket, and set another plant inside of the bottomless bucket. The plastic bucket protects the new plants from rabbits.


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Rich Cronk said:


> -----------------------------------------------------
> Mine are not actually growing in the bucket. I simply dug out a round bed for them in my yard. Something nipped one of the plants off during very first night. I figured it was a rabbit, so I cut the bottom out of an ice cream bucket, and set another plant inside of the bottomless bucket. The plastic bucket protects the new plants from rabbits.


 Good idea Rich, a neighbor decided he was tired of raising rabbits so released them, they ringed around 450 cherry tree's on my place.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

I plan to do a google search for giant sun flowers. Maybe I can get my hands on some seeds for sun flowers that will make first page of my local newspaper next year. I don't have a clue about the plants you see in the above photo's. My wife bought some sunflower seeds is all that I know. Now we wait and see how tall they get.


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

Stonegod said:


> Very nice!! Good job growing them in those pots! A little manure tea will grow them to their max. Nothing cooler than a field of 8' sunflowers waving in the wind or even two in the front yard.


 Ford Motor Co. decide to plant 100 acres of sunflowers one year in Dearborn by their HQ. It was the coolest looking field when they all bloomed. They had torn down one of their old buildings and I guess that was their way of reclaiming the land. Was cool while it lasted.


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Maybe they were thinking about changing products.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

I have found a source for seeds that grow sunflowers which grow as high as 17 feet! I gotta get some of those for next year.


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Care to share? I would love to get some for my wife.


----------



## Ruger (Jan 22, 2011)

Rich Cronk said:


> I have found a source for seeds that grow sunflowers which grow as high as 17 feet! I gotta get some of those for next year.


That would be cool to see!!


----------



## Weasel (Jun 18, 2012)

Those are nice ones Rich! I used to plant some every year but it became too much work. I do have a crop of wild sunflowers that come up each year and I leave them for the birds to feed on.


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

I've heard once they take hold in a field it's tough to eradicate them. They're used by alot of different critters though. I threw some out back this spring but with this drought we've been having nothing has come in yet. Would love to see those 17 footers though. I know the kids used to grow them for 4H when I was younger. They grew them for the tallest and biggest flower I think. Those were like 12 foot back then for tallest.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

itzDirty said:


> Care to share? I would love to get some for my wife.


--------------------------------
Yes, there will be more seeds in the package that I will ever use anyway. I believe that it is too late to start them this year though. If you want to try some right now, I can send you a few seeds to start in a bucket just for giggles.


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Have you guys ever heard the old saying," the snow will be as deep as the sunflower grows"

be carefull LOL


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

prairiewolf said:


> Have you guys ever heard the old saying," the snow will be as deep as the sunflower grows"
> 
> be carefull LOL


----------------------------------------
OHHH PrairiesWolf! You could have gone all day without saying THAT. Maybe I will just plant Daisey's next year instead.


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I've never heard that one..Ole Knapper must have had some 12 footers last year as I think thats about how much snow he had.


----------



## SWAMPBUCK10PT (Apr 5, 2010)

Nice flowers--------sb


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Thanks Rich! You don't have to bother for me though. I thought you found a place on the internet for the 17 footers. I don't want that much snow though.


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

It's just a saying Rich, but a few years ago we had 4 footers growing wild around here in Northern Az and guess what, we got 4 ft of snow. And last few years no sunflowers and little snow.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

itzDirty said:


> Thanks Rich! You don't have to bother for me though. I thought you found a place on the internet for the 17 footers. I don't want that much snow though.


------------------------------------------------
Yes I have located some seeds on the internet, but have not ordered them yet. The ones I have now supposedly grow as tall as 10 feet. I think I will mix up some Miracle grow for these buggers.


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

prairiewolf said:


> It's just a saying Rich, but a few years ago we had 4 footers growing wild around here in Northern Az and guess what, we got 4 ft of snow. And last few years no sunflowers and little snow.


----------------------------------------
A light bulb just lit up in my head. How about this----------We take a bunch of seeds for 17 foot sunflowers and plant a whole bunch of em around itzDirties house. He needs more snow I think.


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

HAHAHAHA!


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Good idea just keep them east of the Mississippi.


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Our neighbor grows them for bird seed and owns Corunna Mills elevator. Here's a pic from last August.


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Nice pic Glen ! How many acres would you say he plants with them ?


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

He leases lots of acreage around here but I have no idea just how much. The sunflower fields are stunning, as you can see. The above photo was taken in the setting sun. It's really cool how all the plants move in unison following the sun. They don't bloom for long, however, before the seed heads begin to brown and droop. Deer will chew right through them taking bites that resemble commercials for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Buck deer also like to use the stalks to rub their antlers against.

Too bad HSUS shut down our dove season, because the plants are bird magnets.


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Those fields would be something to see for sure.


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

prairiewolf said:


> It's just a saying Rich, but a few years ago we had 4 footers growing wild around here in Northern Az and guess what, we got 4 ft of snow. And last few years no sunflowers and little snow.


 Last year at the fall fair though it wasn't a good growing season first place for sunflowers was just over 13 ft., few years before that there were some over 20 ft. !! Glad we don't get the matching snow amounts !! HA !!


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

Hey guys,
One of my sunflowers is trying to sprout three new blooms! I have never seen a sunflower with more than ONE bloom. Is this unusual for a sunflower to grow several blooms?


----------



## knapper (Feb 5, 2010)

Not if you live near a radioactive waste site.


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

LOL


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Are you sure there is 3, do you have your glasses on??


----------



## bones44 (Jan 7, 2011)

Never heard of 3. Must be some "magic" fertilizer in their !


----------



## Rich Cronk (Feb 24, 2010)

Stonegod said:


> I love it when someone one here asks a landscape/plant question!! It's the only time I know what the heck I'm taking about!!!!LOL Cultivated sunflowers almost always have just one head, it's wild cousin can have multiple heads(15 or more). The wild sunflower is the genetic basis for the the cultivated flower. Cultivated flowers have been breed to have single large heads for commerical use. Though I've seen cultivated ones with multiple heads, they could of crossed with there wild cousins.


----------------------------------
Thank you Stone. I will wait until the flower itself actually appears, and then take a new photo.


----------

