The Sun is Out in Boise, and So Are the Sunflowers!

Sunflowers in my back yard.Stuart Gustafson

It is HOT in Boise, Idaho, as it is in most of the West Coast in this early part of July. We just missed setting a new consecutive day record of triple-digit temperatures when we only hit 99 a few days ago. Ah, but that was just a brief respite as we are back over 100, and we’re expected to stay that way for a while.

We never thought much about sunflowers in the past because we did not have any in our yard. But magically some sunflowers came up in our gardens this year. One neighbor who is a Master Gardener says that they are most likely from droppings from birds who’d been eating sunflower seeds. The picture above is the only plant with multiple flowers, fifteen at last count.

Stuart Gustafson

All the others are single-flower plants with thick stalks, about two inches in diameter. The largest single flower is eight inches across, and the bees are very active on it, mostly in the cool hours.

Stuart Gustafson

Similar to how you never noticed all the red cars on the road until you bought one, I had never noticed so many sunflowers in Boise until these plants popped up in my yard. I’ve seen some houses with dozens and dozens of sunflower plants all seemingly coming up from the same spot. I’m wondering now if I can save some seeds from these plants, put them in the ground, and then see if they come up next year. If so, I can have sunflowers all over the place.

Stuart Gustafson

I don’t see any actual seeds yet, but there are a variety of bees spending time at the flowers. The picture above was taken about 7:30 PM, and it was hot outside — another triple-digit day. In the morning is when I see a lot of bees working away. And that made me wonder where do these bees go after dark or when it’s hot. Hmmm

Wikipedia has this to say about the common sunflower: Helianthus annuus, the common sunflower, is a large annual forb of the genus Helianthus grown as a crop for its edible oil and edible fruits. This sunflower species is also used as wild bird food, as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), in some industrial applications, and as an ornamental in domestic gardens. The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Wild Helianthus annuus is a widely branched annual plant with many flower heads. The domestic sunflower, however, often possesses only a single large inflorescence (flower head) atop an unbranched stem. The name sunflower may derive from the flower's head's shape, which resembles the sun.

While my sunflower plants were still immature and the head or the “sunflower” was still developing, it would rotate toward the sun as has been documented by horticulturists. This turning toward the sun occurs to aid in photosynthesis. The stalk eventually thickens and gets more rigid, making it impossible for the flower to rotate. But by then the sunflower is sufficiently developed that it doesn’t need additional photosynthesis help.

Tallest sunflower per Guinness World Recordsguinnessworldrecords.com

The tallest recorded sunflower was last set in August of 2014 by Hans-Peter Schiffer in Germany with his plant at 30 feet 1 inch. Herr Schiffer is known for growing tall sunflower plants as he had held the record two previous times.

The largest sunflower “head” (per Guinness World Records) was 32.35 inches across on a plant grown by Emily martin in British Columbia, Canada in 1983. The American Giant Sunflower is a very tall summer annual; it can reach up to 16' tall with 10" wide blooms. Because of their size, American Giant Sunflowers make for perfect competition flowers. These ginormous blooms are supported on sturdy stalks with large leaves.

As you drive around Boise, take a look at all the sunflower plants out there; just be careful when you’re driving.

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