Garden MVP: Mammoth Sunflower

Wanted to capture and share this massive 12 ft volunteer mammoth sunflower at the peak of its bloom.

[@jaspercheema]

I can’t even believe that it grew that tall that actually unbelievable

[@GabeH26]

It literally looks like a tree!!! Love it!!!

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

They are so fun to grow! Hoping to have some tall ones again this year.

[@GabeH26]

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment thanks for replying. Would've replied sooner but just saw this. I have some growing and I'm excited to see them tower over the garden.

[@sammorris2389]

Thats what i call a "bee"con for all the polinators.

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Good one! Or “The Eye of Flowron”, if you happen to be a Lord of the Ring fan.

[@SwtTrisha8]

Growing my first Sunflower circle this year. Yours ate really beautiful . Thanks for sharing.

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

A sunflower circle sounds really cool! What variety did you plant? I'm trying out several tall varieties this year.

[@tlnelson7598]

I live in Plainview Texas, 40 miles north of Lubbock. I've been away from gardening for many years and just now restarting my garden. I have always had sunflowers in my gardens just because my parents had them. I just purchased my seeds today, I went with Skyscraper sunflowers.

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Hello, I tried that variety last year along with some other tall varieties, but we had a plague of grasshoppers that destroyed most of them. Good luck!

[@homesteadaquarius]

Beautiful and really tall man! They look great!

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Thanks, I had a hard time getting the measuring tape to stand up that tall.

[@grannysgarden8225]

That is truly amazing. I had no idea sunflowers grew that tall and not even staked! Better be careful though, it could be considered an aviation hazard 😂

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Haha! Check this one out, makes mine look small: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWaaoGaAfNGnl8U&vl=en

[@grannysgarden8225]

West Texas Garden Experiment I think he cheated because he had scaffolding and possibly a stake holding it up. Yours is free style, much better.

[@kbmb0116]

WOW! Why do the heads on my droop!! Yours is so impressive!!!!!

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

I think the heads droop when they are heavy with seed. This tall sunflower didn’t droop much because the head was smaller. That’d be my guess anyways 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Crystalspets]

Wow thats a huge sunflower

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

I've enjoyed watching this one grow

[@DarrellAnderson.]

Do mammoths come back every year if you get snow

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Hello, if the seeds fall to the ground and if the right soil conditions exist for them to germinate, then they could come back every year. They are annuals, so they’d only come back from seed.

[@jackiehenderson7584]

Beautiful sunflowers

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Thanks! It was a great year for growing them.

[@vaginapelona]

Beautiful!!!🌻

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Thank you, they are fun and very easy to grow.

[@izwanfade6298]

If the bloom dried out and we cut it, will it grows back or we have to rip off the whole plant and grow a new one ?

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Hello, from what I’ve seen with the mammoth variety, the head does not grow back.

[@Vec135]

12’?? That looks a good 16’ wow 😳

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Yea, it was definitely a tall one. I've planted several different tall varieties this year to see if I can get one that's even taller.

[@madpharmtech]

How do the mammoth sunflower manage with wind?

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

They do always do that good in high winds, but they do fine in anything less. This flower had its head ripped off by very high gusts like one day after I filmed this.

[@barryszymanski8022]

That is huge

[@nopretribrapture2318]

Fantastic 😀👍🌻

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Thanks!

[@berkattin9090]

How long does the process takes to get to this size

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

That sunflower was about 100 days old. It sprang up from fallen seeds of sunflowers from the previous year. I think it got so tall because it was growing in loose mounded soil. I think the loose soil was the key to its size.

[@carpy1252]

A miracle of nature

[@syhu5456]

Do you cut some leaves for the flower grows longer?

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

I don’t cut any leaves unless they have a caterpillar infestation. Does removing some make the flower grow bigger?

[@oldfarmshow]

❤️👍

[@lexustam1569]

Amazing! Is the seeds for sale too?

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

No, those seeds are long gone by now.

[@Rob-wr8ep]

How can i get seeds from this kind of sunflower?

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Hi Rob, I'm not sure where you live, but the Mammoth Sunflower seed is pretty common in stores like Wal-Mart or anywhere online. That really tall one actually sprouted on its own from a sunflower that had grown the previous year. Good luck!

[@trwilkerson8251]

Wow man

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

👍🏻

[@none-ya-dam821]

Damn dude

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Yea, it was huge

[@차순일]

대단하다

[@OneManSmoke]

Man.....did you see the size of that insect on the other side of that sunflower? careful sunflowers are known for harboring some nasty insects.

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

I hadn't noticed that insect in the video, but yes, I get a lot of those. They are wheel bugs, which are in the assassin bug family. Definitely not an insect I want to mess with, but I think they are good predators for other insects.

[@OneManSmoke]

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment nice 🌞 flowers enjoy.

[@bangladeshiboyh]

12ft no way THATS 17FEET

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

It was pretty tall, and seemed even taller on top of that swale berm. Haven’t grown one that tall since.

[@bangladeshiboyh]

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment

[@devante2932]

You must not get heavy wind for it to grow that tall without bending over or snapping.

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Hello, we get pretty heavy winds consistently. The stalk was pretty thick on this one, but the head was not very big. I think the day after I filmed this we got a wind that ripped the head off the tall one and the one that had two heads.

[@devante2932]

Sounds like the nature gods beheaded the king sunflower, his rule had to come to an end lol, nice vid tho

[@WestTexasGardenExperiment]

Lol, I'm just glad the nature gods let me have the flower long enough to film it