Secrets revealed: Growing giant sunflowers

NORTH CANAAN — The directions Gary Mausolf gives to his little plot at Lone Oak Campsites aren’t really necessary: His sunflowers (which soar as high as a verified 14 feet, 3 inches) are enough. 

“That’s almost 2 feet taller than the sunflower that won at the Bethlehem Fair last year,” he said of his tallest stems.

A former Vermont farmer who raised Holsteins, he now lives in Middlebury, Conn., and winters in Florida. He has summered in East Canaan for 18 years. 

About six years ago, he started growing mammoth sunflowers.

“The soil here is good,” he said. “That first year, they grew to 7 or 8 feet.”

But he was not satisfied to continue to just toss seeds into the ground and hope for the best. Before leaving the heads for the birds, he harvests enough seeds for the next year. That, he said, is one of the keys to his success. Another key: He sets open-ended cans around the emerging plants so the rabbits don’t eat them. The cans remain, and collect extra water for the thirsty plants. And the plants must be tied to a stake every 6 inches or so — not too tightly, or the stems will twist or nutrients cut off. 

Mausolf uses long branches as stakes, and ties some crosswise near the top for extra support. At this late point in the growing season, he is climbing up on his trailer roof to tend to the dinner-plate-size flowers.

The dark green leaves are even larger than the blossoms, nearly hiding stems that measure about 7 inches in circumference. Mausolf removes them from the first few feet of stem. To keep the border along the front and side of his home looking nice, he plants giant zinnias to cover the sunflower stems. 

“I’ve been trying to just grow red ones,” he said of the zinnias. “I only harvested seeds from red ones last year, but I guess they cross-pollinate. I don’t know. I’m learning as I go.”

One patch of zinnias is almost pure red.

While he shares seeds with some of his Lone Oak neighbors, he keeps secret his formula for enriching the soil.