Sunflowers: a big, bold bunch of good humour

Where sunflowers come from

Helianthus annuus is a North American plant. People there were growing it for its seeds thousands of years before Spanish explorers carried it back to Europe in the sixteenth century. Today it is grown on a huge scale for oil and seed, and it is the national flower of Ukraine, which is why many people in Ireland have worn or planted sunflowers as a sign of support for Ukrainians.

Does it follow the sun?

Partly. A young sunflower plant tracks the sun across the sky during the day and turns back to the east overnight. Once the flower is fully open the stem stiffens and the head stays put, usually facing east. So the romantic idea of a flower faithfully turning after the sun is only true for its teenage weeks.

What a sunflower says

Sunflowers are not a flower of formal symbolism like roses or lilies. People read them simply: warmth, friendship, good luck and cheer. That makes them one of the safest gifts there is. They suit:

• a friend’s birthday, especially in late summer;
• congratulations on exams, a new house or a new job;
• a thank-you to a colleague or a teacher;
• someone who needs cheering up, as long as it is not on a hospital ward that bans flowers.

Growing them in an Irish garden

Our summers are cooler and windier than a sunflower would like, but they still do well in a sunny, sheltered corner. Sow indoors in April or outside once frosts are over, protect seedlings from slugs, and stake the tall kinds before the first gale. Shorter, branching varieties are easier here than the giants and give more flowers for cutting.

• ‘Russian Giant’ and similar: the tall single-headed type for competitions with the neighbours.
• ‘Teddy Bear’: short, with fluffy double flowers, good for pots.
• ‘Velvet Queen’: deep red-brown petals, lovely with autumn foliage.
• ‘Lemon Queen’: pale yellow and many-headed, loved by bees.

Why florists use pollen-free sunflowers

Most sunflowers sold as cut flowers are bred to produce no pollen, such as the ‘Sunrich’ and ‘ProCut’ series. They do not drop yellow dust on the table, they last longer in water, and they are kinder to anyone with hay fever. Garden kinds grown for bees are the opposite, so cut those for your own house rather than as a gift.

Looking after cut sunflowers

• Heavy vase, deep water. The heads weigh a lot, so use a tall, stable vase filled well up.
• Strip the leaves. Large leaves pull water out of the stem. Keep only one or two near the top.
• Recut every couple of days. A fresh slanted cut helps the thick stems keep drinking.
• Top up daily. Sunflowers are thirsty and can empty a vase quickly.

Treated this way, a good sunflower stays bright for around a week, sometimes more. For general advice see our care tips; for other summer flowers, look at peonies or our guide to flower language.