TOPEKA (KSNT) - Being surrounded by sunflowers isn't such a bad thing, especially if you live in the Sunflower State.
Residents of Kansas are treated annually to the sight of thousands of sunflowers. These plants have become a key part of Kansas' identity over the years and can usually be found adorning t-shirts, the state flag and other memorabilia. Sunflowers are also a major crop for the state, with Kansas standing in fourth rank in the U.S. for production of the flowers, according to Kansas State University's Department of Agronomy.
If sunflowers are your thing, you're probably wondering when they hit their peak each year. Helianthus annuus L., also known as the common sunflower, blooms between the months of July and October each year, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
The exact time sunflowers reach peak bloom can vary depending on factors like when they were planted, what part of the state they're located in and what the weather is like, according to Kansas Tourism. Individual fields of sunflowers bloom for around two weeks.
Wild sunflowers vary in terms of when they reach peak bloom but, generally, they do so during the summer months. Cultivated sunflowers you might see in a farm setting usually hit their peak bloom in mid-August up to early October.
Sunflower farms are a regular occurrence in Kansas each year for people to pick the flowers or go on photo shoots in the fields. Kansas Tourism keeps an updated list of farms offering these opportunities each year on its website. To find a sunflower farm near you, click here.
The sunflower was adopted as the state flower of Kansas in 1903, according to the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS). The sunflower is now synonymous with Kansas, with the state now bearing the 'Sunflower State' as its nickname. Part of the statute dictating the sunflower as an official symbol of Kansas can be found below:
"This flower has to all Kansans a historic symbolism which speaks of frontier days, winding trails, pathless prairies, and is full of the life and glory of the past, the pride of the present, and richly emblematic of the majesty of a golden future, and is a flower which has given Kansas the world-wide name, "the sunflower state": therefore,
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: That the helianthus or wild native sunflower is hereby made, designated and declared to be the state flower and floral emblem of the state of Kansas."
Kansas Legislature
For more Kansas Outdoors, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf
