Sunflower

In the world of art, Sunflowers may be the most prominent of all flowers. When Vincent van Gogh walked through a field of Sunflowers, he became so ecstatic that he found inspiration for several phenomenal paintings: the Sunflowers.

Everyone knows this big beauty! A flower that links to summer and happiness and is especially loved by children. The meaning of this flower is admiration. It’s very easy to grow your own sunflower and fun because you put one sunflower seed into the ground and you get 20 or 30 seeds in return! A sunflower only needs 2 things: moist soil and sun of course! Most sunflowers are yellow but there are also orange and dark red species. Normally a sunflower becomes 1,5 to 2,5 meters high, but there are extremely tall variations! Sometimes real enthusiasts show up with 5 meter tall sunflowers. There are even competitions on the tallest sunflower! à

 

 

  •   Properties
    Scientific name
    Helianthus
    Family
    Asteraceae
    Synonyms
    Sunflower
    Origin
    The Incas, in 1,000 B.C., were impressed by Sunflowers. They were the first in the world to cultivate them. They even revered the Sunflower as an image of their sun god.
    Meaning
    Admiration, strength, zest for living, loyalty, faith, fertility
    Shelf life
    5 till 14 days depending on the freshness, circumstances at home and whether you add cutflower food or not
    Season
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
                           
  •   Care tips florists
    • Helianthus can be stored in the cold store with water at 2° C. If the atmospheric humidity in the cooled area is too high (80% or more) the risk for Botrytis will increase. Temperature changes can also cause condensation on the flower.
    • Upon receiving Helianthus it needs to be handled as quickly as possible, in order to avoid going limp.
    • Place the flower in clean water, in a clean vase or bucket.
    • Remove the bottom leaf.
    • Use a preservative. If there is no preservative available, then it is also possible to put a drop of chlorine in the water to slow down the growth of bacteria. A chlorine pill is useful anyway due to fast wound repair of the stem after being dry.
    • Should the leaves or flower still go limp, an extra treatment will be necessary. Removing excess foliage could help, because this prevents evaporation. Cut the flowers again and possibly twist them tight in moisture free paper and allow them to "haren" for a few hours in the cold store.
    • Prevent condensation or getting wet of the flowers to prevent Botrytis. This is often called blemish with Helianthus when it is on the flower petals, leaf or stem. The heart can also be affected. It is recognisable by small black specks or brown spots on the flower petals or fluffy mould in the heart of the flower
  •   Care tips consumers
    • Cut 3 to 5 centimetres off the stem with a sharp and clean knife. You can also use sharp secateurs for this purpose.
    • Remove the excess foliage, so that there is no leaf hanging in the water.
    • Put the flowers in a sparkling clean vase with clean tap water.
    • Glass vases are best, because they are easier to clean than other materials. In addition, it is easier to see if there is still enough water left. To really kill all bacteria,the best thing to do is to clean the vase with a bit of chlorine.
    • Add, in the proper dosage, the supplied cut flower nutrition. There is a preservative in the cut flower nutrition allowing your sunflowers to go on for longer. That is because this substance keeps the water free from bacteria. The flowers will open more beautifully and will go on for longer.
    • If you do not have cut flower nutrition, you can also add a drop of chlorine to the water to prevent deposits in the vase and dirty water.
    • Refresh the water regularly and cut the stems a little.
    • Refill the water regularly: sunflowers need a lot of water.
    • Do not put the flowers in a draft, in the full sun or near another heat source.
    • Do not place your flowers near the fruit bowl. Fruit naturally emits ethylene gas. This hormone causes flowers to age faster.