I love the time of year when the Sunflowers start to bloom. My 4 year old daughter likes to go out and stand next to the flowers to see who is growing faster. This one passed her up quite quickly. Chris
First Sunflower of the Season! This is the same plant that just bloomed. I'm sure Katie's 5 year old sister will be in some pictures soon as well. They were both adopted in China and they are the greatest! Chris
Wow, in flower already. Mine are only a foot tall and only just out on the allotment now that we won't (fingers crossed) see any more frosts. I won't see flowers until mid August!
Things tall and short Thank you for your kind words! The flowers are helping my older daughter to work through some questions about size. Haylee is from the Hunan province in China and the people from there are quite small. Katie on the other hand is from Nan Jing and at 3 she is taller than her 5 year old sister. We discuss the differences between our dwarf sunflowers and the sky scrapers and how each has strengths and is beautiful in its own right. Haylee may be smaller, but she is still the big sister and Katie knows it. Chris
I love sunflower seeds but I have never grown them before I'm afraid of getting the wrong ones and them tasting yucky. Was just wondering what part of China are you from?
Growing Sunflower Seeds to Eat I am actually a native of Arizona, but I spent a few weeks in China with each of our adoptions and loved it. If you plan on harvesting your sunflowers to eat you will want to select the big ones. Russian Giants can grow 20 inch seed heads. Another great big one is the Kong Sunflower that can grow to 10-15 foot tall. I also like the Skyscraper that has bright yellow flowers of 14" or better. You will need to protect the flowers from birds by covering the heads with cheesecloth or you can use old pantyhose. Just don't use plastic bags that will smother the flowers. As soon as most of the petals have died and fallen off the flowers you can harvest the heads by cutting a few inches down on the stock from the head. Hang the heads in a well ventilated area to dry. Once dry, rub two heads together over a container and the seeds should fall out easily. Take some of the seeds and place them in labeled envelops for next years planting. Soak the seeds intended for eating overnight in salted water and then drain. If you want to have them roasted spread them out on baking sheets and roast them at 200 degrees for three hours. Chris
Beautiful daughters and beautiful flowers! I am growing a couple Mammoths too, but they are quite a bit behind yours. Have you ever grown the Sunspot? I love that one too!
Chris I think both of your daughters are lovely little girls. :-D My daughter used to have a 'thing' about her height as both her brothers tower over her. Nowadays the boys call on her to crawl under cars or get into any spaces their bigger frames can't. Have you ever grown red sunflowers? I had one a few years ago that was absolutely gorgeous but sadly I can no longer find any seeds around here for sale.
Red Sunflowers! Hi Eileen, Thank you so much for your kind words. I love red sunflowers also! I sent you a private message with the best and lowest priced online sources for them. Several varieties are available including Velvet Queen, Ruby Eclipse, Starburst Blaze and Moulin Rouge. Chris
