Origin: The wild sunflower is native to North America but was originally commercialized in Russia.
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Helianthus
History: Sunflowers originated in the Americas and domestic seeds dating back to 2100 BC have been found in Mexico. Native Americans grew sunflowers as a crop, and explorers eventually brought the flowers to Europe in the 1500s. Over the next few centuries, sunflowers became increasingly popular on the European and Asian continent, with Russian farmers growing over 2 million acres in the early 19th century (most of which was used to manufacture sunflower oil).
Famous Art: Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh famously painted a world-renowned still-life series of sunflowers. His sunflower paintings are so famous, the Van Gogh museum has teamed up with the breeder of Sunrich sunflowers to create the “Sunrich-Van Gogh’s Favorite” label of sunflowers.
Types: Sunflowers can be annual or perennial, but most sunflowers are annuals. From there, sunflowers can be single steam or branching. Single stem sunflower varieties are best for high-density plantings and produce consistently beautiful flowers on tall stems. Succession planting will be needed for continuous blooms throughout the season. Branching varieties produce flowers on multiple shorter stems throughout the season, which makes them ideal for sunflowers all season long. Sunflowers also can produce pollen or be pollen-free.
Popular Varieties:
Single stem: ProCut Series, Sunrich Series, and Vincent Series
Branching: Autumn Beauty Mix, Soraya, SunBuzz, Suncredible, Sunfinity
Pollen-free: Moulin Rouge, ProCut Series, Sunbuzz, Sunrich Series, Vincent Series
Pollen: Soraya, Ring of Fire, Valentine
Snacking: Some varieties have been bred to produce large, edible seeds that are great for snacking. The seeds are ready to harvest once the petals have withered and the seeds can be seen.
Did You Know?: Some people have a fear of sunflowers! It’s called Helianthophobia.
Breeders: True Leaf Market, Jung Seed, Territorial Seed Company, Johnny’s Selected Seed, Silver Falls Seed Company, Osborne Quality Seeds, American Meadows, Harris Seeds, Urban Farmer, Select Seeds, PW, Park Seed, Earl May, Botanical Interests, Burpee, Willhite Seed Inc, West Coast Seeds, Pure Tree, Garden Trends, Breck’s, A. P. Whaley, Gardener’s Supply Company
Source: National Garden Bureau
