Tallest sunflower competition!

Is your child the next budding record breaking Alan Titchmarsh or Charlie Dimmock?

Question: What is tall, yellow and will be spotted in pots and gardens across Bollington and Macclesfield this summer?

Answer: 100s of sunflowers planted by our younger residents with free seeds or your own.

That's if a new competition as part of Bollington & District Horticultural Society Annual Show captures the children's imagination. Bollington & District Horticultural Society has packets of sunflower seeds to give away to children who want to enter a special competition to grow the tallest sunflower.

The Annual Show will be held on Saturday the 6th September 2008 and it is a chance for the young children to compete for the title of “Champion Sunflower grower”.

There are three classes:

1. Tallest sunflower

2. Largest sunflower head

3. Best sunflowers exhibited in a vase

Debra Nixon of Bollington & District Horticultural Society said “We are hoping that children take up the challenge to grow a tall, large or collection of sunflowers. The record for the tallest sunflower is in the Netherlands; it was originally in Exeter so maybe we could get the record back!”

How do you obtain your free seeds (whilst stocks last)?

1. Email Bollington.horticultural@hotmail.com and a pack will be posted to you. Don't forget to give your name and address in the email!
2. Collect seedlings from Bollington & District Horticultural Society annual plant sale on the 17th May 2008 at the Community Centre, Ovenhouse Lane, 10am-1:30pm;
3. Library and Shops in Bollington (Jill's hairdressers at Crossfield Road, Heathcote's butchers at Wellington Road and Palmerston Street, and Belfield's bakery Palmerston Street).

Alternatively you can buy your own seeds. Varieties such as Mammoth, Russian Mammoth or California Greystripe and Russian Giant are generally recommended.

How to enter

If you are up to 14 years old get growing your sunflowers as soon as possible!

For your tallest Sunflower ask someone to take a picture of yourself next to your sunflower. Please send the picture (print or digital) of your sunflower with yourself standing next to it together with your name, address, age, height of flower and grower to:

Tallest Sunflower Competition
Bollington & District Horticultural Society
5 Jackson Road
Congleton
Cheshire
CW12 1NT

or email to Bollington.horticultural@hotmail.com

The CLOSING DATE for entries is Friday 5th September and pictures will be on display at the Annual Show. Late entries will not be accepted. Judging will take place at the annual show and prizes awarded at the prize ceremony the same day, Saturday 6th September 2008.

For the collection of Sunflowers or largest sunflower head please bring them to the Civic Hall in Bollington on Friday 5th September between 7:30pm-9:00pm or Saturday morning 8:00am - 10:00am. Full details will be provided with the seeds.

Fascinating facts about Sunflowers

• The current world record for the tallest sunflower is 25 ft. 5.4 in. (7.76m) tall grown by M Heijms in Oirschot, Netherlands, in 1986.
• The largest sunflower head, 32¼ in. (82 cm) diameter, was grown by Emily Martin in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, in 1983.
• The sunflower has inhabited the earth for over 8,000 years. Explorers saw their first sunflower in South America. They brought back batches of seeds and by 1580 the sunflower was a common sight in Spanish villages.
• The American Indians grew the sunflower as a food crop and ate the calcium-rich seeds. They used the petals to make a yellow dye and the stalks made a light fibre for cloth.
• In 1996, politicians from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine gathered at a missile base to celebrate an agreement to take apart Ukraine's nuclear warheads. They planted sunflowers where missiles were once buried. U.S. Secretary of Defence William Perry stated "Sunflowers instead of missiles in the soil would ensure peace for future generations."
• There are over 2,000 varieties of Sunflowers identified to date, but the largest, strongest, and most striking Sunflowers are the 'Mammoth Russians' which grow 6 to 12 feet. They are also known as 'Russian Giants', 'Tall Russians', 'Russian Greystripes', or simply 'Mammoths'.

How to grow a Sunflower ...

You can start a plant indoors or you can plant outdoors once the danger of frost has passed usually from early May to early July.

Sunflowers need a lot of sunlight, so choose as sunny a spot as possible. You should see a shoot after two weeks and a sunflower will reach its full height in 80 to 90 days. You'll need to stake the plant as it grows. Don't forget to water it. Sunflowers are remarkably trouble free, though aphids are sometimes a problem, but can often be controlled by spraying with water or garlic spray, or by encouraging native predators such as ladybirds. Sunflowers are loved by slugs but don’t put pellets down try crushed egg shells, used coffee from the percolator or copper rings. Alternatively there are organic slug powders available that are safe to the environment.

When the plant dies in late autumn, you could cut out the flower head and hang it on a fence or wall to feed the birds.