the comfrey herb makes a wonderful natural fertilizer for the sunflower patch Harvesting Mammoth Sunflowers For Seed Collection Popular big ‘uns like Russian Giant (3m), Mongolian Giant (3.6-4.2m) and Giraffe (4.5m) are one long stem with a huge flower – great for competitions but no good for a prolonged garden display. Pacino’– 12 to 16 inches tall Potted sunflowers make excellent patio decor, but don’t expect them to grow very tall. 2. Enrich the soil before planting and keep it well-fed. Skyscraper’ sunflower is another towering giant that can grow up to 12 feet high. It produces blooms that reach 14 inches across. It takes around 75 days for this type of sunflower to reach maturity. ‘Skyscraper’ sunflowers that haven’t yet reached maturity.

Take advantage of trap crops like onions and squash to draw pests away from your Mongolian Giant sunflowers. Deer may also be interested in them before they really get big, so be on the lookout for nibbled leaves and add some kind of physical barrier so they can’t munch the top of the plant right off. Sunzilla Sunflower plants can reach 16 feet tall in optimal growing conditions. The flowers grow to be about 12″ wide. Sunzilla Sunflower plants take about 90 days (3 months) to reach maturity after planting. 8. Kong sunflower a mammoth sunflower head ready for seed removal pull the seeds to one side and they should readily fall out of the seed head mammoth grey striped seeds Seed Storage One of the largest-seeded varieties available to gardeners, seeds up to 1½” long. Plants can grow 12-14′ tall with gigantic yellow heads reaching 16-18″ across!” This Mongolian Giant Sunflower grew so big it need extra support.

Growing the tallest sunflower plants starts with choosing a variety that has tall genetics. For extra-tall plants, you’ll need seeds that want to grow tall and then growing conditions that allow them to. Here are some popular tall sunflower varieties: 1. Mammoth sunflower Mary Jane Duford is a passionate gardener and well-acclaimed authority in the world of horticulture. As a certified Master Gardener and Permaculture Garden Designer with over a decade of hands-on experience, she has honed her skills to cultivate a deeper understanding of the natural world around us. Beyond her gardening prowess, Mary Jane holds a distinct edge as a Professional Engineer, an expertise that often intertwines with her gardening methodologies, bringing a unique perspective to her readers. Another towering sunflower variety, the Mongolian Giant also lives up to its name and reputation. The huge plant grows as tall as 14 feet, producing a single flower per plant. The massive flower is between 14 and 18 inches across and typically takes about 90 days to bloom. The flowers last four to six weeks before losing their petals. Their huge seed heads attract birds and animals. Humans also enjoy their seeds.

mammoth sunflowers will have improved growth with regular watering- these sunflowers were left to the elements Staking The tallest sunflower ever grown has been recorded in the Guinness Book Of World Records, measuring at 30 feet and 1 inch. This giant sunflower was grown by gardener Hans-Peter Schiffer of Germany in 2015. A larger variety of branching sunflower is the ‘Italian White.’ The plant grows to between five and seven feet in height, producing four-inch flowers on the multiple branches, with cream-colored petals with dark centers. They require full sun and should be planted in early spring. They’ll take 90 to 110 days or so to bloom, but once they do, loads of pollinators will come calling. Soraya Sunflower

It is best not to plant the sunflowers in containers, and then to transplant into the garden, as this planting technique can cause stunting, and create much smaller flowers overall.

Ikarus (1.2m): Branches near the base producing an abundance of light yellow colour blooms with a dark chocolate-brown centre, www.chilternseeds.co.uk. Pastiche (1.2-2m): A mixture of evening sun shades – yellows, reds and buff, some with a bright yellow or a deep red disc. Widely available. They will still flower on slightly less sun but to give them the light they crave, even if you have to stake. As they get taller, your Mongolian Giant sunflowers may be at risk of toppling either from wind or the weight of the flower head. Add stakes as needed or tie them to posts with gardening twine if you’ve planted them along a fence.Every summer new photos appear of gardeners standing next to massive sunflowers in their gardens, reaching heights of 10 or 12 feet or more. Or massive flower heads measuring a few feet in diameter. Step one is to provide nice, loamy soil. My garden soil is terrible, so I add loads of homemade compost to the soil to gradually build it up each year. The biggest sunflower out there is the Mongolian Giant sunflower and you won’t believe how big the seeds and blooms get! Paul Bunyan’ sunflower– much like its folk hero namesake, this sunflower will grow into a giant, towering at 16 to 18 feet tall. The deep yellow flowers can reach up to 23 inches across. There are different varieties of mammoth sunflowers, and most will take longer to grow from seed to bloom than the smaller varieties, which are often grown as cut flowers.

Each stem is unique, and has it’s own agenda. Blooming time is an approximation, in ideal conditions.

The main attraction point of a tall sunflower – the majestic flower head – may also result in its downfall, quite literally.