Helianthus Sunflower Asteraceae
This is Hektor. (the dog wonder boy in the photo to the left) I met Hektor on a Saturday afternoon at the Flower Stand at Sightglass. It wasn’t until several weeks later I learned of his almost obscene addiction to sunflower stems. It’s in his eyes and his unwavering grip, seeing his trim brindled joy prance around the space in search for sunflowers; I knew we had a special connection. Nothing else mattered to him, the presence of other dogs, the attention of his parents were eclipsed from his mind the moment he knew sunflowers were nearby. Minus the frothy grip, I, like Hektor, love sunflowers.
It’s safe to say the sunflower is my steady. It’s easy to grow, mass appeal is consistent and from what I was told by an old time farmer, “you can tell when a sunflower was cut by the direction it’s head is facing the sky.” I have not been blessed with available amounts of time to watch the movement of sunflower heads follow the sun, but the image is gracious nonetheless.
Sunflowers are popular today but reached a remarkable peak in the 1990’s. Remember when it seemed everything had a sunflower on it? Aprons, coffee mugs, t-shirts, placemats, you name it, it had a sunflower on it. The joy they bring is universal. Sunflowers also have an economic importance with it’s oil and forage properties. It’s used in food and dyes. It is one of the only native (US) flowers to have become an important agricultural commodity. If you’ve ever driven across Kansas (it’s the state flower) miles and miles of sunflowers exist. A word to the wise, if you’re not a fan of sunflowers, skip driving through Kansas.
Sunflowers are produced from seed grown in fields but can also be grown under glass (greenhouse). If growing outside it’s best to wait until all threat of frost has passed. That threat doesn’t exist as much in the Bay, as say, the Northeast (i.e. Long Island). We had a couple of seasons out in Long Island setting sunflowers a few weeks later than other regions. Although sunflowers are available year-round in stores and shops, locally field grown sunflowers are available at the earliest late spring to late fall. Sunflowers appearing in December, January (i.e. winter months) more than likely are coming from Mexico or are greenhouse sunflowers.
Sunflowers have about 70 – 80 species. Helianthus annus (Autumn Beauty, Music Box, Teddy Bear, Sunspot) is the most common and as a cut flower, should last between 5 – 7 days. I look forward to the day when I can grow Helianthus cucumerifolius “Italian White.” The petals are a very light yellow and look so delicate even though the sunflower, especially the stem, is a heavy, sturdy flower. I grew sunflowers in pots from seed once and well, produced the tiniest sunflower blooms I’d ever seen. The stems were malleable unlike the almost branch-like hairy stems of commonly grown sunflowers. It was an experiment without defined expectations, which can produce entertaining results, with all of the restrictions and restraint, beauty lived.
The Mint Plaza Flower Stand will carry sunflowers (Sunspot and Teddy Bear varieties) through the summer and early fall.
