At 11ft 9ins, is this Lancashire's biggest sunflower?
The 72-year-old, who lives with wife Joan, 71, said: “I started it off in a pot and that is it. I have not done anything to it and I have not fed it.
“I am not sure why it is so tall. I think it was just in the right place, getting the right amount of sun. The fact it is under a lamppost means it’s had light 24 hours a day.
“It has caused an awful lot of attraction and comments.
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Hide Ad“I have had sunflowers before, but never this big. They have been between 6ft and 8ft.
“I have another big plant coming on – I bought the seeds while on holiday in Tenerife. The packet says it will grow up to 12ft, but we shall see.”
Following a post on the Evening Post’s Facebook page, readers were quick to challenge Robert’s claim of growing the tallest sunflower.
Shelley Snape says her plant is 14ft, and Leigh Wylie-Jenkinson sent us a photo with his giant sunflower, also in Fulwood.
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Hide AdSammie Zoe Jackson posted on Facebook: “When I was 12 my grandad grew a 12ft 4in sunflower in his garden. It was immense.”
Chantelle Clayton added: “Mine reached upstairs windows when I was a kid.”
Meanwhile, others were shocked at the size of the plant.
Lisa Paxton wrote: “Just passed this while on a run! Couldn’t believe the size of it.”
Kate Broom lamented: “That puts my tiddler to shame.”
Brian Bell gave his advice on how to make a sunflower grow: “An old remedy for sunflowers was to feed them on hops (but drink it first).”
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Hide AdAccording to the Guinness World Records, the tallest sunflower measured 9.17m (30ft 1in) and was grown by Hans-Peter Schiffer, in Karst, Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany, as verified on August 28, 2014.
He is a veteran of growing tall sunflowers, having held the record twice previously.