Tallest sunflower – as high as a three-storey house – topples decade-old record

After 10 years, the record for the tallest sunflower has finally succumbed to a monster bloom grown in the backyard of a family from Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.

Nicknamed “Clover”, the skyscraping sunflower was nurtured by Alex Babich (USA, b. Ukraine) – a landscape gardener, seed seller and outdoor gear designer – along with some green-fingered support from his family.

When assessed by representatives from the Allen County Department of Weights and Measures and several Master Gardener graduates from Purdue University on 3 September, the humongous Helianthus was confirmed to be 10.90 m (35 ft 9 in) high from the base of its stem to the tip of its highest flower.

The progress of the sunflower has been garnering a lot of attention in the horticultural community and beyond, so the measuring day drew a large crowd, even including Icy D. Eagle, mascot of the local Komets ice-hockey team.

This is almost double the height of the iconic statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, or easily tall enough to reach the rooftop of a typical three-storey house.

This obliterates the mark of 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in) achieved a decade ago by master sunflower cultivator Hans-Peter Schiffer of Kaarst, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, who broke this record no fewer than four times in a five-year period from 2009 to 2014.

Indeed, having stood firm since 2014, it had started to feel like an insurmountable watermark that may never be beaten – until now.

Babich is no stranger to sunflowers, which are a plant close to his heart as they’re the national flower of Ukraine, where he is originally from. He and his family moved to the USA in 1991, following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

He began a more concerted effort to nurture them to record-setting proportions seven years ago. Using a combination of seeds from his tallest specimens to constantly refine the genetic line, as well as exchanging seeds from other giant sunflowers with other enthusiasts across the globe, his world-record goal inched ever closer.

The seed for this 10.90-m behemoth actually came out of a swap with German grower Burkhard Grendel, taken from one of his blooms that soared to 8.58 m (28 ft 2 in) last year, equalling the all-time second-tallest sunflower on record.

Showing how interconnected and collaborative the world of giant sunflower growing is, the seed that Grendel used originated from Brian Moore of New Jersey, USA, who cross-pollinated a lofty single-headed sunflower from Richard Hope in the UK with a wild multi-head sunflower found in Nebraska, USA. 

For those serious about cultivating supersized sunflowers, a lot of planning, preparation and knowledge goes into the pursuit, as Babich explained to GWR. His process begins by planting seeds indoors in early spring under a grow light, identifying the strongest of the seedlings to take forward and knowing exactly when to transfer them outside – not too early but not too late.

Another crucial element is the support structure that will hopefully prevent weather and animal damage to your precious plants – something that becomes an ever-greater risk the higher that they reach.

Showing just how committed he is, Babich says he sketched a blueprint design of his self-built sunflower scaffold on a napkin, with input from his uncle-in-law, during a Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago. (The structure gets year-round use, as during the winter months, the family use it to hang lights to illuminate a temporary mini ice-hockey rink.)

With improving results each year, he knew he was on the right track, particularly in 2022 when he produced a 7.67-m (25-ft 2-in) specimen, which was enough to clinch the all-time US title. He bettered this a year later with one that topped out at 7.95 m (26 ft 1 in). The world record was now firmly in Babich’s sights.

But demonstrating that nothing is assured when it comes to competitive horticulture – even for growers with a proven track record – in 2024 Babich logged an impressive haul of 10 sunflowers that surpassed the 6-m (20-ft) mark, but none came close to his previous two years’ giants. He admits these results left him disappointed: “Everyone was impressed, but I was let down. I went back to the drawing board and drew up a plan for this season.”

Nevertheless, his success caught the attention of a documentary film crew, who the following year went on to record his entire process, from planting the seeds through to the final measurement.

They released a short film in 2024 that won an award, the prize of which has been reinvested to create a longer-format documentary, titled Bloom, focusing on the story of his world-record sunflower. They’re hoping to release this in summer 2026 and it will be submitted to a range of film festivals, including the iconic Sundance.

As well as a lot of preparation, caring for giant sunflowers – like any plants being grown competitively – is a daily vocation that requires a lot of time, patience and love. And not solely for the grower – it has an impact on the whole family.

Babich offers an insight into this household commitment: “When the growing season started, my wife [Nannette] told me that she will pray that I would crush the world record this year, so that I could take a year off competitive growing and we could go camping more during the summer.

“I started laughing, telling her, ‘There’s no way I can grow a 30-foot flower!’ But she was serious. So I gave her my word that, if I beat the record by a substantial number, I’d take a year off. Well, her prayer was answered… God works in mysterious ways.”

Babich’s children have also played a key role – indeed, as their father explains, one of the main reasons he “started a garden [was] to show my kids that you can grow your own food organically, take care of these plants and then harvest the reward.”

He continued: “Our family motto has always been: ‘Plant a Seed. Water with Love. Watch Hope Grow.’”

The whole family pitched in to nurture Clover as it has developed, with Nannette and their children, Ayla and Keenai, on essential watering duties when Alex has been working out of town.

In fact, his 10-year-old son, Keenai, is the whole reason that the superlative sunflower ended up with its unusual nickname. “One day I was working in my garden, when I noticed my son climb up on to the structure and place something on the leaf of this sunflower.

“He told me that he finds four-leaf clovers all over our yard and started placing them on the leaves of this sunflower for good luck. That’s when I decided to name it Clover.”

As with many competitive horticulturalists, Babich is keen to encourage others to have a go at growing their own garden giants – so much so that he has been guerrilla seed-bombing around the USA, particularly trying to inspire the next generation:

“We live in Fort Wayne, where famous Johnny Appleseed is buried,” Babich told GWR. “I always loved his story: he was known for travelling the country and spreading apple seeds. He passed away in 1845, but stories of him are still told to this day…

“I started spreading sunflower seeds, planting them when we go camping, and handing out little seed packets for kids when we set up at festivals. I put five seeds with good genetics in each envelope, and put a sticker on each one that says Spread the love – sunflower seeds.”

So the big question everyone’s asking is: does Babich seriously intend to follow through with his promise to hang up his gardening gloves and take a year off having now claimed the long-sought world record? It seems that Nannette’s plans for a big summer camping trip may have to be postponed a little longer…

“I’m usually a man of my word…” Babich begins sheepishly. “But the kids have been asking me a lot lately: will I grow next season? I told them they’d have to talk to Mom. But I would love one more solid growing season with Clover’s seeds before I take a break.”