Common sunflower — hoodie

Common sunflower

Helianthus annuus L.

Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), sunflower, tournesol, girasol, Sonnenblume, zonnebloem - in many languages, the name of this plant refers to the sun not only because of the association with the solar disk. The flower basket of the sunflower rotates with its front to the sun - a phenomenon called heliotropism. The name sunflower comes from the Greek word for "sun" helios and "flower" anthos.

Sunflower belongs to the asteraceae family, which includes annual or perennial plants with erect, thick and stiff stems and single, hairy leaves. The flower basket consists of two types of flowers: the marginal, uvula-like flowers - which give color and character to the plant - are yellow, orange and red; the central, tubular flowers are brown, which form fruits, achenes, and produce fat-rich seeds.

Sunflowers are not demanding to grow, but they grow best in sunny positions, in fertile soils, rich in nutrients and slightly moist.

It is worth fertilizing them regularly, they are sensitive to deficiencies of potassium, boron and molybdenum.

Sunflowers are propagated by sowing seeds directly into the ground (usually in the second half of April or May), as they do not like transplanting.