Handing me a small bag of sunflower seeds one morning last summer my neighbor informed me, “These are Mammoth Sunflower seeds.”

I have seen huge sunflowers at our county fair for years, and marveled at them, but have never cultivated any. I suppose because of the sweet, little volunteer ones that spring up all around our place from the bird feeders.

This will be fun to see how big they get, I thought while planting.

I have to say, if a rating would be given on germination, I would have to give those seeds a poor one. Only a couple grew at all. Much less big to any impressive height. Perhaps I did something wrong?

At any rate one did grow, and grow and grow and grow. I felt as if I had a Jack-in-the-Beanstalk plant in the garden!

Several times I thought to cut it down and enter it into our fair. But I did not. I simply watch it grow. Literally, I could stand in its shade from the huge leaves.

I wish the photos gave a better ‘feel’ for its size.

It was cut down after the flower head passed its peak. My husband said the flower head was about 18″ in across, and the stalk was at least 4″ in diameter. It stood 12′ tall. He used a saw to cut it down.

What fun it was to plant and watch grow. Have you planted Mammoth sunflowers? How did yours turn out?

I may just try again.