Kansas is known as the Sunflower State and we have some of the most beautiful fields of sunflowers tower into the sky, some reaching 15 feet tall or more. But Kansas doesn’t even come close to having the tallest sunflowers in the nation. A gardner in Fort Wayne, Indiana has grown a monstrosity of a sunflower, measuring 35 feet 8 inches tall, shattering the world record by 5 feet. Alex Babich, an immigrant who fled from the Chernobyl disaster in Russia in 1991, says he has verbal confirmation from Guinness that he has set a new world record with Clover. He said the company is just working on a press release before giving him the official notice. He has the sunflower enclosed in scaffolding to keep it upright, and a special ladder to reach the top. He is the first american to hold the record. Most giant sunflowers are grown in the Netherlands or in Germany. He has named it “Clover”. Sunflowers hold a special place in his heart. While sunflowers are native to the United States, they are the National Flower of Ukraine. When asked what type fertilizer he uses, he says it’s a secret. Wait. Where is he from? Chernobyl? Hmmmmm.
