Uncover cool facts about sunflowers, including sunflower plant world records and which U.S. states grow the most sunflowers.
9 Fascinating Facts About Sunflowers
Updated on Sep. 17, 2024
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Most Heads on One Sunflower
Impress your friends with these amazing facts about sunflowers. According to Guinness World records, a sunflower in Michigan had 837 heads on one plant!
No Green Thumb Required
Sunflowers are one of the easiest plants to grow. Pop a sunflower seed in the ground, give it a good drink of water, and you should see a green sprout in about 14 days!
Tallest Sunflower Ever
A sunflower in the Germany grew over 30 feet high, an impressive world record.
Check out the top 10 sunny sunflower varieties to grow.
This State Grows the Most Sunflowers
This one of our facts about sunflowers is truly impressive. North Dakota was the top sunflower producing state in 2022, with a whopping 1.34 billion pounds. South Dakota came out on top in 2021.
Learn how to grow Mexican sunflowers in your garden.
Sunflowers Are Host Plants
The caterpillars of several butterfly species munch on the leaves of sunflowers. Three examples: bordered patch, painted lady and silvery checkerspot.
Each Head Has Many Flowers
One sunflower head actually consists of more than 1,000 individual flowers, called disk flowers. What we think of as petals are called ray flowers.
Psst—have you ever heard of false sunflower plants?
Types of Sunflower Seeds
There are two types of commercial sunflower seeds. Oil seed (known as black-oil sunflower seed to backyard birders) is small, black and processed for sunflower oil. Non-oil seed is larger, black-and-white striped and used in food.
Placement of Sunflower Leaves
Each sunflower leaf grows up the stem at about a 90-degree angle from the one below it.
This State Loves Wild Sunflowers
The wild sunflower is so common in Kansas it’s considered a weed—but it’s also the official state flower. There may be as many as 20 heads on one wild sunflower plant.
Next, check out stunning sunflower pictures that radiate beauty.
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