Grown atop thick, “hairy,” sturdy stems, some sunflower varieties can reach 10 feet tall—or taller! While the black- or brown-centered, yellow-petaled sunflower is perhaps the most familiar ...

Upperside forewings are brown with yellow, brown-spotted centers ... but have also been observed nectaring on chamise, golden yarrow, slender sunflower, poison oak, and short-podded mustard. THREATS: ...

Leave your sunflowers in the garden until the plants begin to dry out and the flowerheads drop their petals and turn yellow ...

Sunflower mature within three to four months depending on the variety. Harvesting is done when the heads turn yellow or brown at the back, by hand through cutting the head, spiking it upside down ...