An amateur gardener who spent 30 years breeding a giant variety of sunflower has finally seen the seeds go on sale.
Helianthus giraffe is guaranteed to grow to 17ft tall, a third taller than ordinary sunflowers.
The variety was developed by Victoria Wakefield, who was concerned that there was little in the garden to interest children after the start of September. She spent 30 years breeding the variety by choosing only seeds from the tallest sunflowers in her garden in Bramdean, Hampshire.
The main reason that the Giraffe can grow so tall is because it does not flower untill late August or early September, giving it plenty of time to reach for the sky. Although other sunflowers have grown taller than the 17ft height of the Giraffe they are the result of a fluke rather than deliberate breeding.
Packets of seeds of the new species, declaring that the Giraffe is “possibly the tallest sunflower ever produced”, have gone on sale for the first time. Mrs Wakefield, 70, is credited on the packet with breeding Helianthus giraffe but is not taking any royalties from the sales.
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Mrs Wakefield, who regularly opens her gardens to the public under the National Gardens Scheme, said: “In September time there wasn’t a lot to see, especially for children, so I decided to start growing sunflowers.
“As each year went by I used the seeds from the tallest one and planted them again the year later. I did this for 30 years until they consistently reached 17ft. People are amazed at the size of them.
“I hope everyone who plants them is a competitive sport and tries to see which one will grow the tallest.”
Mrs Wakefield, a member of the Royal Horticultural Society’s herbaceous plant committee, mentioned her towering sunflowers to Simon Crawford, a fellow member of the committee and a plant breeder.
He sent a kilogramme of the seeds to a farm in Africa where they were harvested. Mr Crawford, 57, said: “Because it is sunny and dry in Africa it is great for sunflowers. Each sunflower produced between 100 and 150 seeds so from the ones we planted we had millions.”
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The seed merchants Suttons Seeds, based in Devon, have the exclusive rights to sell Helianthus giraffe in the UK.
Chris Spanton, flower products manager at Suttons, said: “The variety of sunflowers that are usually planted in the UK are the Giant Yellow, which reach an average of around 12ft tall. The Giraffe variety will reach 17ft in height, possibly more, as long as they are sewn in April, given the opportunity to climb and flower, and fed and watered regularly.
“The closest breed is the Russian Giant and as far as we know they reach about 14ft to 15ft.”
The seeds cost £2.99 for 20.