Sunflowers are the personal favorite flower of this polymer clay earrings maker. I own sunflower sundresses, I have sunflower vases and other decorations around my home, I make sunflower earrings. I even have a sunflower tattoo! I am a sunflower kind of gal.
My sunflower earrings will forever have a place in my heart, and I find myself wearing them more and more as the weather warms. It got me thinking - I should know more about sunflowers! So, I did some research, and I would like to share with you all what I found.
Six Fascinating Sunflower Facts
1: They Takes Several Weeks to Bloom
There is a lot of tender, love, and care that needs to go into sunflowers before those gorgeous yellow faces form. In most cases, it takes 70 to 95 days after they’ve been planted for sunflowers to reach that stage, and it certainly doesn’t happen on its own. If you intend to grow sunflowers, you can expect to work at it for a while before you get the payoff!
2: Plant Sunflowers When Conditions Are Right
These are some delicate plants. You can’t just toss sunflower seeds in the soil at any old time and expect something positive to happen.
The recommendation is to wait until two or three weeks after the final frost is scheduled to hit your area. Soil temperature should be 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on where you’re located in the United States, this could occur any time between March and June.
3: Sunflowers Turn to Face the Sun
It makes sense given the flower’s name, but this fascinating fact still caught me off guard. You mean sunflowers really turn to face the sun throughout the day? Yes, they do, and here’s how:
Sunflowers use something called heliotropism, which is the term that refers to the phenomenon of plants following the path of the sun over the course of the day. Sunflowers aren’t the only flower that does this, but they are considered the best example of the behavior. It provides the plant with 10 percent or more sunlight than otherwise, and it’s a big boon to their overall growth.
Next chance you get, try watching some sunflowers over several hours, or at least check back in on them every once in a while. I bet you’ll notice the shifts, especially on a sunny day.
4: The Tallest-Ever Sunflower Beat 30 Feet
According to Guinness World Records, Hans-Peter Schiffer grew the tallest sunflower ever in the summer of 2014 in Karst, Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany. It measured at 30 feet and 1 inch (9.17 meters). This was not Schiffer’s first rodeo growing giant versions of the flower - he had previously grown sunflowers big enough to earn this title twice before.
No one has taken his plant’s place over the last decade. Think you have what it would take to beat him? I think I’ll stick to making sunflowers out of polymer clay, thank you very much.
5: They’re Edible
Ever looked at something so beautiful that you couldn’t help but feel an urge to eat it? Me neither. But if someone were to experience that sensation, and said beautiful object was a sunflower, then they could follow through with their craving safely.
Sunflower petals, seeds, leaves, and stems are all edible. Sunflower oil is a very common thing to find in kitchens across America, sunflower seeds are a staple among baseball people, and sunflower leaves are occasionally added to salads, too. They’re not as ingrained in our culinary habits as some other plants, but sunflowers are no rarity in American diets.
There are reasons to eat sunflowers and sunflower products beyond the taste. For example, sunflower seeds are loaded with vitamin E, which helps reduce inflammation. Eating sunflowers can also boost energy levels, support your immune system, and improve heart health, according to WebMD.
6: They’re Really Pretty
Okay, this is more of an opinion than a fact. It’s actually exclusively an opinion and not any amount a fact. But it is important.
It’s why I’ve worked so hard to create these Sunflower Petal Drop Dangle earrings. I’ve always thought sunflowers were one of the best ways to brighten up a room or space. They express color, personality, and joy. I wanted to make something that brought all of those characteristics together into one.
I designed these earrings to have three dangling petals, because I didn’t want to make a simple flower stud or whole sunflower. I preferred the subtle approach, allowing onlookers to associate what they see with sunflowers without hitting them over the head with it. Abstract and artsy was my goal.
They have risen to become one of the darlings of my collection. I wear them in the summer, but my favorite time to show them off is in the fall; something about these sunflower earrings on a hay ride with crisp, multi-color leaves on the ground and all around just feels right.
Featured image courtesy of Antonio Tranchida.
Edited by Justin Meyer