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History: The Sunflower dates back to nearly 3,000 years ago. They were used by the Native Americans long before corn or beans were brought to America. They would eat the seeds, ground the kernels into flour, and extract the oil from the seeds for their hair. Also used the flower petals and pollen to make dyes for face paint, clothes, and baskets. By the 1500's they made their way to Europe and by the 1700's to Russia.

Uses: The sunflower is valuable when forming your background screen in your garden. It grows rapidly and can reach a height of 8 to 12 feet. They can be planted between shrubs. There are also Dwarf forms of 24 inches in height which make a great bed by themselves. Sunflowers can be used for bird food, or human consumption.

Culture: Sunflowers do best when they are in adequate soils that hold water well, and are properly fertilized. They will tolerate wide ranges of soil types, except ones that are too high in nitrogen. You need to space the seed 12 inches apart in rows that are spaced 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart. Finally, the soil temperature must be between 42 and 50 degrees F. Depending on the variety and enviromental factors, germination might occure within 7 to 12 days, while the plants might take 80 to 90 days to mature.

Diseases: The most common disease associated with sunflowers would be Sclerotina or white mold. Sclerotina causes stalk and head rots. Other diseases are downy mildew, rust, and verticillium wilt. Birds might be a bother when harvest time nears. To prevent that you can cover the flower head with plastic netting or a cheesecloth.

Harvesting: Mid-September and into October is when Harvest would begin. Checking the flower head would indicated maturity; the florets in the center of the flower disk are shriveled, and the head are downturned. Or you could also pull a few seeds and split them with a knife to check if the seed meat has filled in yet.

Fun Facts: Tallest sunflower grown was 25 feet tall. The largest sunflower head was measured at 32 1/2 inches across. Shortest mature sunflower was just over 2 inches tall. Sunflowers get their name because they always face the sun, they will track the sun's every movement across the sky. There are two types of sunflowers-oilseed, which are processed for their oil, and the nonoilseed, which is used basically for eating and cooking.

The sunflower represents adoration, affection, glory, gratitude, and infatuation.

References:
	mailto:Brittney.Traxinger@ndsu.edu
	mailto:Brittney.Traxinger@ndsu.edu
	mailto:Brittney.Traxinger@ndsu.edu
For More Information Contact:
	Brittney.Traxinger@ndsu.edu


	Scientific Name: Helianthus Genius and Species: Helios anthos (Helios meaning sun, and anthos, meaning flower)
	Family: Asteraceae


The Sunflower by Brittney Traxinger

The Sunflower

by Brittney Traxinger