Found as a chance seedling in Grand Haven, Michigan, this sunflower is a semi-dwarf plant with both black and striped seeds. The seedlings produced from this find produced both larger 6 inch single heads and polyheaded versions with up to 20 2-3 inch heads per plant. The polyheaded versions have a tight head making the seed use by birds more consistently available over a longer period of time. This is similar to the wild versions of sunflower before cultivation by humans. This one selection also provided us with 30 day ripening sunflowers-the earliest we have found yet. Mixed and Polyhead sunflowers grow and set heads within 60 days with full ripening in 70-80 days from planting. Mixed are a mix of types from the earliest ripening plants with large heads and strong growth habit. Polyheaded types have from 10-30 heads per plant. No worms were found in the seeds when harvesting.
To grow: Plant after frost covering the seed with about a half an inch of soil. If in a single row space 6-12 inches apart. The wider spacing produces stronger plants.
| Plant Specs |
| Genus & Species |
Helianthus annus |
| Height (ft) |
3-6 |
| Width (ft) |
Polyheaded is a wider plant to 4 ft. across, |
| Ease of Cultivation |
Selected on small size and tight seed heads which keep the seeds intact longer. Small seeds can be collected or left on the stalks for bird food. |
-500x500.JPG "Haven Sunflowers")
