Mike Armstrong said:
One of my favorite plants, especially the self-planting ones! Thought to have been the first agricultural food crop in the Americas (proven at a Mexican site by some very convincing--and lucky--archeological evidence).
In Spanish they're called "tornasoles" or "girasoles" because of that daily adjustment to get the maximum sunlight. But does anyone know WHY they do that? Flowers don't turn solar energy into chemical energy thru photosynthesis like leaves, do they?
Maximum pollinator attraction? Just to make us wonder?
This caused me to do at least a little research. And apparently there's at least a little dissension between learned individuals about why sunflowers follow the sun.
I always presumed the flowers followed the sun to capture energy for photosynthesis. And I did read at least one little paragraph agreeing with me. But most paragraphs suggest they follow the sun to attract the most bees. Warm flowers make happy bees. Happy bees are busy bees. Busy bees visit more flowers. :wink:
I wake up very early. It's a curse. I go out in the yard to water in the early AM, and visit the flowers while I'm at it. I've discovered the bees are already visiting the sunflowers at the very earliest light. I've discovered also, the bees don't give up until it's past dusk. And sometimes the bees stay interested in the sunflowers until it's too late, and things cool off, including the bees. Then they are kind've trapped on the flower until morning. Cool bees turn dormant easily.
I've also discovered, more little flying insects, bugs, whatever, are attracted to sunflowers than my other flowers. A sunflower at any time might play host to multiple species of flying insects simultaneously. Honey bees, bumble bees, flies, unidentified bees, will harvest pollen on the same flower at the same time. And wasps have an interest in the leaves. Sugar?
My tomatoes are struggling to produce this year. Plenty of blossoms, but while I have hundreds of bees at a given moment on my sunflower crop, I might have none on my tomato blossoms. An old farmer might know this. Bees apparently turn their noses up at tomato blossoms when there's sunflowers nearby.