| You've come to the right place! Helianthus annuus, or Sunflowers, have quite a number of uses. They're admired as ornamentals, but the also make good fodder for poultry and livestock. Dyes caome for the petals, and paper can be made fro the stalks. Sunflower seeds feed people, animals and birds, and sunflower-seed oil is used in cooking, soaps and cosmetics. In the garden you can grow sunflwoers as windbreaks, privacy screens and as living supports for pole beans. Sunflowers come in a wide assortment of sizes; some grow as tall as 15' with flower heads as big as 1' across. There are dwarf types that grow only 1 1/2'-2' tall. Some cultivars produce a single large flowers and others form several heads. Sunflowers grow best in all day sunshine and will grow without much water, but grow even better with regular watering. Seeds are harvested after the petals fall and the back of the seed head turns yellow. |
