I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan

alan.holmes wrote:
I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?


Maybe it is shy or just afraid of getting sunburned? Did you remember to
rub the petals with sunscreen? :-)

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:45:56 +0100, "alan.holmes"
wrote:


I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan




Now I know this is absolutely how NOTt to spell it .. but ... in
France they are called something like Turneysol ... they turn to the
sun.

I think yours is happy picking up the light reflection off the wall.

Mike P

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
alan.holmes wrote:
I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?


Maybe it is shy or just afraid of getting sunburned? Did you remember to
rub the petals with sunscreen? :-)

ROTFL!

Alan



--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On 2009-09-24 16:45:12 +0100, Mike said:

On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:45:56 +0100, "alan.holmes"
wrote:


I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan




Now I know this is absolutely how NOTt to spell it .. but ... in
France they are called something like Turneysol ... they turn to the
sun.

I think yours is happy picking up the light reflection off the wall.

Mike P

Tournesol. And it could be the light reflection or it could be the
strength of the sun. ;-)) In fact, could it be because they're
starting to 'go over' now? Is the whatever-it-is that makes them turn
to the sun still active as the days shorten?
--
Sacha

On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:16:00 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-09-24 16:45:12 +0100, Mike said:

On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:45:56 +0100, "alan.holmes"
wrote:


I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan




Now I know this is absolutely how NOTt to spell it .. but ... in
France they are called something like Turneysol ... they turn to the
sun.

I think yours is happy picking up the light reflection off the wall.

Mike P

Tournesol. And it could be the light reflection or it could be the
strength of the sun. ;-)) In fact, could it be because they're
starting to 'go over' now? Is the whatever-it-is that makes them turn
to the sun still active as the days shorten?

Perhaps .. like us with old age, they just stiffen up and lose
flexibility ?

Mike P

I live in France in the countryside and see miles of sunflowers every year
and I have also noticed that they no longer follow the sun. It seems that
they all face east - to where the sun rises. I wonder if it's the EU who
have restricted the varieties and the only one they use now does not tourne
vers le soleil?

Roy

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:16:00 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-09-24 16:45:12 +0100, Mike said:

On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:45:56 +0100, "alan.holmes"
wrote:


I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems
to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan




Now I know this is absolutely how NOTt to spell it .. but ... in
France they are called something like Turneysol ... they turn to the
sun.

I think yours is happy picking up the light reflection off the wall.

Mike P

Tournesol. And it could be the light reflection or it could be the
strength of the sun. ;-)) In fact, could it be because they're
starting to 'go over' now? Is the whatever-it-is that makes them turn
to the sun still active as the days shorten?

Perhaps .. like us with old age, they just stiffen up and lose
flexibility ?

Mike P

"Sgt Pepper" wrote in message
...
I live in France in the countryside and see miles of sunflowers every year
and I have also noticed that they no longer follow the sun. It seems that
they all face east - to where the sun rises. I wonder if it's the EU who
have restricted the varieties and the only one they use now does not tourne
vers le soleil?

Roy

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:16:00 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-09-24 16:45:12 +0100, Mike said:

snip

Tournesol. And it could be the light reflection or it could be the
strength of the sun. ;-)) In fact, could it be because they're
starting to 'go over' now? Is the whatever-it-is that makes them turn
to the sun still active as the days shorten?

Perhaps .. like us with old age, they just stiffen up and lose
flexibility ?

Mike P


Extract from Wikipedia:

Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism. At sunrise, the faces of
most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day,
they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an
eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the
pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud
stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached.
Sunflowers in their blooming stage lose their heliotropic capacity. The stem
becomes "frozen", typically in an eastward orientation. The stem and leaves
lose their green color.
The wild sunflower typically does not turn toward the sun; its flowering
heads may face many directions when mature. However, the leaves typically
exhibit some heliotropism.
R.

On Sep 24, 10:45*am, "alan.holmes"
wrote:
I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan

My grandmother used to plant a row of sunflowers at the sunny end of
her garden to help shade certain vegetable plants from "all day" sun.

"Ragnar" wrote in message
...

"Sgt Pepper" wrote in message
...
I live in France in the countryside and see miles of sunflowers every year
and I have also noticed that they no longer follow the sun. It seems that
they all face east - to where the sun rises. I wonder if it's the EU who
have restricted the varieties and the only one they use now does not
tourne vers le soleil?

Roy

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:16:00 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-09-24 16:45:12 +0100, Mike said:

snip

Tournesol. And it could be the light reflection or it could be the
strength of the sun. ;-)) In fact, could it be because they're
starting to 'go over' now? Is the whatever-it-is that makes them turn
to the sun still active as the days shorten?

Perhaps .. like us with old age, they just stiffen up and lose
flexibility ?

Mike P


Extract from Wikipedia:

Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism. At sunrise, the faces of
most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day,
they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an
eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the
pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud
stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached.
Sunflowers in their blooming stage lose their heliotropic capacity. The
stem becomes "frozen", typically in an eastward orientation. The stem and
leaves lose their green color.
The wild sunflower typically does not turn toward the sun; its flowering
heads may face many directions when mature. However, the leaves typically
exhibit some heliotropism.
R.

That's really interesting! Thank you.
Spider

On 2009-09-25 00:39:56 +0100, kat said:

On Sep 24, 10:45*am, "alan.holmes"
wrote:
I was under the impression that sunflowers followed the sun, with their
heads turning so they were always looking at the sun.

I have one in the front garden which totally ignores the sun and seems to
look in the other direction!

Is this normal?

Alan

My grandmother used to plant a row of sunflowers at the sunny end of
her garden to help shade certain vegetable plants from "all day" sun.

How lovely, Kat, I've never heard of that? This was in France? I used
to like the way roses are planted at the end of rows of vines until I
realised it was to show mildew up more quickly!
--
Sacha