Antipodean sunflowers
 

Hello all.
First, I am not blessed with green fingers or much knowledge of gardening.
Mainly, I'm the donkey.

This Spring I potted and then planted about 80 sunflowers. Dwarfs & giants.
Because I like them and so do the children and grandchildren.
About 60 have grown to fruition.
South facing plot that gets full sun, although we haven't had a great deal
of that. Good tilth.
Growth has been good/excellent (a few @ 3m+) but the flower heads are
dismal. Most are now dying off but I suppose it's that time of year.

I had always thought that the flower heads track the sun through the day. I
stand ready to be corrected.
These do exactly the opposite. If they move at all, it is from West to North
and back. I have yet to see a single one facing toward south or the sun.

My dearly beloved bought the seed from a local garden centre that she
favours.
I wonder if the seed may be from the other side of the world. Certainly the
worst crop I've ever had and I've been growing them, intermittently, for
about 25 years.

Any thoughts please.

Many thanks,
Nick.