Last Chance: Get Inspired to Grow Sunflowers Now!

Learn all about sunflowers and why you might want to grow them! [GreenPrints]( January 10, 2023  [GET THE HISTORICAL DETAILS ABOUT SUNFLOWERS—AND GET INSPIRED TO GROW YOUR OWN!]( Sunflowers are, well, sunny and optimistic plants! There’s a whole history behind sunflowers that you should know—and, after learning about the background of sunflowers, you can decide whether you want to try growing them yourself. Great news! With GreenPrints, you get informative stories about plants like sunflowers … and the inspiration to consider growing them. These “gardening stories from the heart” are reading for your education, enjoyment, fulfillment, and personal enrichment—you’ll learn important gardening facts whenever you read an issue! For example, check out this story on page 52 in the recent Autumn 2022 issue of GreenPrints—a review of the background and gardening science behind sunflowers: [Following the Sun]( Up to a point. By Becky Rupp “But tomorrow may rain So I’ll follow the sun.” —The Beatles What do you believe? Individually, most of us know pretty much where we stand on life’s bigger issues—and similarly on life’s smaller, though even on these we may not agree, which is what leads to family ructions over things like toothpaste squeezing and cats on the bed. Publicly, though, belief gets a lot more complicated. The news these days—no matter what your political sympathies—can’t help but make you wonder who truly believes what. Who’s telling the truth? Who’s sincere? Who’s lying? Who should we believe? Sooner or later we have to decide. Which brings me to gardens. And sunflowers. Sunflowers—along with corn, beans, peppers, potatoes, and cotton—are native to the Americas, likely cultivated more than 3,000 years ago by the indigenous people of Mexico and the Southwest. It was these farmers, archaeologists believe, who changed the sunflower from a runty, multi-branched wildflower to the behemoth grown in fields and gardens today. The Spanish conquistadors brought the sunflower—along with a lot of other loot—to Spain, from where it spread through Europe as an ornamental. Scientists pounced upon it: Nicolás Monardes, in his Joyfull Newes Out of the New Founde World (1577), gave it an enthusiastic description under the heading “The Hearbe of the Sunne.” He also added helpfully, “It is needefull that it leane to some thing where it groweth or else it will bee always falling,” a stricture that still applies today. [Pee in your Garden 1] Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, first happened upon sunflowers in 1697 in Holland. Peter was touring western Europe at the time, learning navigation and shipbuilding techniques with an eye to modernizing the Russian navy. He was traveling incognito and working as a carpenter in the Dutch shipyards—though just how incognito he was is a matter of debate, since he was accompanied by an entourage of 250 and stood 6-ft., 7-in. tall in his socks. He sent sunflowers home, and in doing so, changed the Russian economy. Sunflowers—Helianthus annuus—are named both for their flashy yellow flowers and for their sun-tracking behavior. Botanical groupies, sunflowers follow the sun, slowly tilting their heads from east to west over the course of a day, then returning to face east again overnight, ready to start the whole process over again. Scientifically, this behavior is known as heliotropism and in sunflowers it occurs because auxins—plant growth hormones—accumulate in greater quantities on the side of the sunflower stem opposite the sun. The hormones prod the cells on that side of the stem to elongate and multiply, which in turn causes the flower head to tilt. According to recent research, there’s even more to it than that. Sunflowers, it turns out, have circadian rhythms—that is, a 24-hour internal clock determines their east-to-west and back again daily motion. Put sunflowers in a greenhouse under artificial light and try to make them adjust to a 30-hour schedule and they’re not having any. There’s a reason for all of this sun-following, other than frivolous beach-bunny-like basking. Sun-facing flowers are warmer and bees like warm flowers best. Scientists—by cruelly yanking sunflowers around and making them face the wrong way—found that sun-facing flowers are visited by five times as many pollinating bees. All that back-and-forth sun-tracking behavior doesn’t last forever. It only happens with youthful sunflowers. Once a sunflower reaches adulthood—by which time it can be a towering 10-foot-tall plant with a flower up to a foot across—it ceases to waffle. Adult sunflowers settle down and stay pointed determinedly toward the rising sun in the east. Once they’re grown-ups, sunflowers stay put. Tsar Peter’s sunflowers, back home in Russia, were wildly popular. Russian sunflower growers soon developed bigger and better cultivars both for eating—Russians to this day love to snack on sunflower seeds—and for oil. The passion for sunflowers was encouraged by a quirk of the Russian Orthodox Church, which forbade the consumption of butter, lard, and vegetable oils during Lent—with the notable exception of sunflower oil. In fact, in one of those twists of fate so common in the garden world, by the 19th century, gargantuan and nutritious Russian sunflowers were being imported back into the Americas. [Pee in your Garden 2] Today the prime producers of sunflowers worldwide are Russia and Ukraine—the two collectively account for an annual 30 million metric tons of sunflower seeds and over 70 percent of the world’s sunflower oil. In Ukraine, the sunflower has always been a national symbol. Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February of this year, a display of sunflowers has come to be a global signal of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The Washington Post calls them “a symbol of resistance, unity, and hope.” Sometimes what we grow in our gardens means more than we think it does. I believe that our beliefs aren’t set in stone. We’ve always got time and options for growing, for learning, for experiencing, for changing our minds. But sooner or later, when it comes to right and wrong, we have to come down on one side or the other. We have to decide what we believe and who we choose to listen to. And that’s when—like those sunflowers—we stop shifting with the sun, dig in our heels, and face our east. ❖ Illustrations by Christopher Reid Dear Reader, What an educational and inspiring story! And GreenPrints has published many, many informative stories just like this one—stories that deliver you facts and inspiration, such as: - “Eating the Rainbow” (Summer 2022 issue, p. 60) - “The Sweet Smell of Rain” (Spring 2022 issue, p. 36) - “Feet, Fathoms, and Flamingos” (Winter 2020-21 issue, p. 64) - “Tommy Tucker and Company” (Autumn 2021 issue, p. 46) - “Buried Treasure” (Summer 2021 issue, p. 52) - “Here Comes the Sun” (Spring 2021 issue, p. 56) And tons more educational and inspiring stories in our Library—and coming up in future issues! Please read what some subscribers say about how GreenPrints affects their lives: “It's my ONE thing I can grab to read and escape, laugh, and learn!” —Ashley Holland, Stephens, AR “I was moved to tears by Becky Rupp’s article ‘Following the Sun.’ Thank you, Becky!” —Constance Pike, Orange, MA “Thank you for continuing to create the best gardening magazine ever!” —Connie Moore, Virginia Beach, VA Including this featured story—“Following the Sun”—you get all 15 stories in the Autumn 2022 issue of GreenPrints with an [All-Access Membership](. Filled with stories that inspire and inform, GreenPrints also includes specially commissioned artwork with every article, to enhance the stories and entertain you—illustrations that are thought-provoking and just plain fun! Here is what one subscriber says about GreenPrints: “Thank you! BEST EVER Magazine!! It's like the finding a ‘treasure’ in the mailbox. Artwork is amazing!” —Jo Glenn, Port Royal, PA Here are the stories included in the Autumn 2022 issue: - “The Chinaberry Tree” - “My First Pumpkin” - “The Grateful Jalapeños” - “The Smell of Flowers” - “For Love and Money” - “Pee in Your Garden!” - “My Little Chickadee” - “Life Savers” - “An Autumn Gardener’s Motto” - “Following the Sun” - “Slug Chug” - “Pioneers” - “The Last Tomato Story” - “Cats in the Garden” - “Chicken Plop Tea” [Autumn 2022 Issue]( Now, you can [order your own single copy]( of the GreenPrints Autumn 2022 issue for $15, plus shipping and handling (and in some jurisdictions, you have to pay tax—you’ll end up paying more than $20 for a single copy with shipping, handling, and tax). Or, better yet, for just $20 (no shipping or handling … and no tax!), you can get [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( for an entire year—with a whole year’s worth of stories in a full subscription to GreenPrints, both print and digital editions … and benefits galore! [$20 SPECIAL! 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[Claim Your $20 Membership Now!]( Summary of All-Access Membership Benefits 01 A full year of GreenPrints All-Access Membership, an exclusive club for those who want to enjoy the greatest gardening stories ever—save $40 off the annual cover price, a 67% discount! $60/year Now Only: $20/year! 02 1-year subscription to the GreenPrints Magazine, quarterly issues filled with humorous and heartwarming stories—in print, delivered directly to your door, and sent to you digitally as soon as issues are published! INCLUDED 03 Full and immediate access to the GreenPrints Digital Library—your membership includes access to the current digital magazine issue and back issues, a digital version of The Weeder’s Reader—plus the library is constantly growing with new content regularly added! 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You deserve to learn new things about gardening to fully enjoy gardening’s effects … and to be inspired about your own gardening efforts—please act now to claim your [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( and get informed and fulfilled every day! [GreenPrints All-Access Membership Special Offer—Only $20!]( 67% Off the Cover Price Now! [GreenPrints all access](  Claim your GreenPrints All-Access Membership today and get all the greatest gardening stories ever—heartwarming and funny, for you now! [YES, SIGN ME UP FOR JUST $20 FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!]( About GreenPrints Magazine: GreenPrints shares the absolute best true stories of gardeners from all across the country. It’s the most inspiring, humorous, and heartfelt gardening magazine of them all. There is nothing else like it. We’re no spring seedling, either—we’ve been publishing for over 30 years. If you love to garden, you will love GreenPrints, THE magazine of personal gardening stories from the heart. 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