The Best Pine Trees: 41 Noteworthy Varieties
11.08.2023 - 11:29 / balconygardenweb.com
Sunflowers are big, bold, and beautiful, with bright yellow petals and a dark center that seems to stare straight at the sun. In this article, we will explore the Giant Sunflower Varieties out there!
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘American Giant’
USDA Zones: 4-9
These Giant Sunflower Varieties can grow up to 11-16 feet tall and produce heads that are up to 2 feet wide! They are perfect to create a statement in the garden.
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘Russian Giant’
USDA Zones: 2-11
The Russian giant sunflower is one of the most popular varieties of giant sunflowers out there. It can grow up to 12-15 feet tall and produce heads that are over 1 foot wide!
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘Giant Yellow’
USDA Zones: 3-9
As the name suggests, these Giant Sunflower Varieties can grow up to 13-16 feet tall! The ‘Giant Yellow’ also produces heads that can reach up to 1 foot wide.
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘Giraffe’
USDA Zones: 3-9
This sunflower gets its name from its unique height – it can grow up to 12-14 feet tall! The blooms of the ‘Giraffe’ are striking, with bright yellow petals and a dark center.
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘Kong’
USDA Zones: 4-9
Kong is a unique Giant Sunflower Varieties that can grow up to 12 feet tall and produce heads that are over 8-12 inches.
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘Mammoth’
USDA Zones: 2-11
This sunflower is named after its large size and ability to tower over other plants in the garden. The best part – it is really easy to look after.
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus ‘Moulin Rogue’
USDA Zones: 4-9
These Giant Sunflower Varieties can grow up to 8-10 feet tall. These sunflowers produce heads that are up to 8-12 inches wide and have deep red petals with a dark center.
Botanical Name:
The Best Pine Trees: 41 Noteworthy Varieties
Helianthus annus ‘Sonja’
Like new potatoes and asparagus, giant American marshmallows are clearly in season at the moment – they’re appearing in all the shops. We spotted them in our local garden centre (!) and, fresh from the success of our inaugural marshmallow toasting, we thought we’d set ourselves a challenge and see whether we could repeat it with something considerably larger.
Header image: Richard Bord/Getty Images
Just over a year ago, when we were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, I talked about the lack of diversity in space and mentioned Mary Jackson. In 2016, the movie Hidden Figures shared the stories of Mary Jackson and two other Black female mathematicians – Katherine Johnson and, Dorothy Vaughan. They worked at NASA when a ‘computer’ still meant a person carrying out mathematical calculations. The film is based on a book by Margot Lee Shetterly, which I am reading at the moment. The book offers a more detailed and accurate account of the prejudice these women (and others) had to overcome.
In Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars, Kate Greene talks about Shannon Lucid, the NASA astronaut who spent six months living on the Russian space station Mir. Shannon, it turns out, was a bookworm. During her stay, she read 50 books and improvised shelving from old food boxes, complete with straps to stop the books floating off. This was in 1996, a good decade before the invention of the Kindle, and so these were real books. She apparently chose titles with the highest word to mass ratio, since launch weight is a critical factor! Lucid left her library behind for future spacefarers, but it burned up when Mir was de-orbited in 2001.
What kind of traveller are you? Do you prefer to lie in a hammock slung between two palm trees, reading the latest blockbuster novel? Or would I find you soaking up the local culture along with the sun? I’m more of the latter, and it helps to know a smattering of the local language if you go off the beaten track!
When NASA is selecting crops to grow in space, it looks for varieties that can produce a lot of food in a small space, on compact plants that are healthy and easy-to-grow. It turns out that they suitable tomato plants already exist on Earth, as there are plenty of windowsill and small-space gardeners who love tiny tomatoes!
Continuing my research into which of NASA’s African American astronauts are space gardeners, I turned my attention to the second name on the (alphabetical) list: Guion Stewart Bluford Jr.
Header image: Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station. NASA
Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth… and beyond! In this episode, Emma takes the time machine for a spin to explore the early history of seeds in space. Plus you’ll find out which plants will be best for terraforming Mars, why greenhouses may soon be made from solar panels, what’s included in a Russian space tourist package and more!
Trader Joe’s has announced a recall of its Trader Joe’s Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds (SKU# 76156). The grocery store, with 564 stores across the United States, was advised by its supplier that the product, with best if used by dates 03/01/24 — 03/05/24, may contain metal, according to communication from the company.