According to Guinness, as of 2024, what was the height of the tallest sunflower plant ever grown?

Hans-Peter Schiffer, from the town of Karst in Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany, is no stranger to growing record-height sunflowers. Schiffer has held the record for tallest sunflowers several times before his current record. He produced records for the tallest sunflower in 2009, at 26.3 feet (8.01 meters); in 2012, at 27 feet (8.23 meters); and then again in 2013, at 28.7 feet (8.75 meters). His current record of 30 feet one inch (9.17 meters) has stood since 2014.

The record almost didn’t happen because of a thunderstorm that blew through, producing hail that damaged Schiffer’s sunflowers. But even though most of the sunflower leaves experienced hail damage, the plants survived and continued to grow. The record sunflower was precisely measured with the help of the local fire department and the construction of a large platform connected to multi-level scaffolding around the sunflower.

Alex Babich from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the record holder for the tallest sunflower in the United States. His sunflower, grown in the summer of 2022, measured 24 feet and 10 inches (7.57 meters), beating the current record by one inch (2.54 centimeters).

Each sunflower can produce up to 2000 seeds. The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/4 inches in diameter (.82 meters) and was grown in Canada.