🌻Sunflowers 🌻

🌻Sunflowers 🌻 

~Helianthus~ 

A member of the Asteraceae or daisy family.

Sunflowers are a composite flower head, a tightly packed group of small flowers that form a single flower structure. The outer Halo of Flowers known as the petals, are called Ray flowers. The flowers in the center are Disks Flowers and mature into Seeds, the fruit of Sunflowers.

In addition to the ornamental beauty of the Flower, Sunflowers seeds are commonly used as food for people and animals. Bees love Sunflowers! Sunflower seed oil is used for cooking and in a variety of cosmetics. 

The sunflower has over 50 species and comes in annual and perennial.

 The Perennial varieties spread rapidly and can quickly become evasive taking over the area. 

They come in many colors like the well known yellow, as well as red, orange, purple, and others.

Here is a list of different kinds of Sunflowers

 🌻American Giant
Arnika
Autumn Beauty
Aztec Sun
Black Oil
Chianti Hybrid
Claret
Dwarf Sunspot
Evening Sun

Florenza
Giant Primrose
Gullick's Variety
Incredible
Indian Blanket Hybrid
Irish Eyes
Italian White
Kong Hybrid
Large Grey Stripe
Lemon Queen
Loddon Gold
Mammoth Russian
Miss Mellish
Mongolian Giant
Orange Sun
Pastiche
Peach Passion
Peredovik
Prado Red
Red Sun
Ring of Fire
Rostov
Skyscraper
Solar Eclipse
Soraya
Strawberry Blonde
Sunny Hybrid
Sunshine
Taiyo
Tarahumara
Teddy Bear
Thousand Suns
Titan
Valentine
Velvet Queen 

Willow leaf

&

The
Yellow Disk

How to grow

Plant your seeds🌱 In early spring after the last frost.

Sunflowers as it implies in the name need full sun.

They like moist, well draining soil. 

Sunflowers grow very tall reaching heights of 6 ~ 9ft. 

Sunflowers tilt during the daylight hours following the sun, this is called Heliotropism. 

They do this until the Flower reaches maturity

🌻Tip
Sunflowers are allelopathic plants.
They emit a biochemical from their roots, germinating seeds, and seed hulls that inhibit the germination of other seeds around them.

A few other plants with allelopathic properties are black walnut, asters, and junipers.

Harvesting

Sunflower seeds are mature when the back of the bud head is yellow, but they still require time to dry
 before harvest. 

Mature Bud Head

Bud Heads are usually ready to harvest in Autumn.

Parts used~ whole flower, seeds, seed hulls, and Ray petals.

🔮Metaphysical uses🔮

longevity, strength, happiness,

 loyalty, friendship, good fortune, abundance, peace, and hope.

 Add a splash sunflowers to your Autumn Décor to call the above Qualities.
Natural Sunflower Oil is great for the skin making it an excellent carrier oil. 

🌻

~Shine Boldly~

Mary🦋