Sunflower sanctuary

Sunflowers are planted every year at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in Spanish Lake attracting photographers, wildlife and nature lovers

BY WENDY TODD

A popular online gardening site, Gardening Chores, analyzed top Google searches to determine the most popular flowers in the United States. Sunflowers ranked number two on the list.

For sunflower lovers in St. Louis, there is a great opportunity to enjoy them in abundance at the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in Spanish Lake, where sunflowers are planted every year. They are expected to bloom through August despite drought conditions.

Due to the stressful weather conditions it’s possible that the flowers may be smaller than previous years, but the Missouri Department of Conservation staff, who plant the rows every year, states there will plenty of sunflowers to enjoy.

The sunflowers are planted to assist with dove management, as the flower’s seeds attract the birds and the height helps hide dove hunters who gather for the hunting season in September.

The fields are to be viewed but not picked from, and serve as great photo ops for professional and amateur photographers. The sunflower fields work well for those looking to create photogenic social media posts.

According the MDC, sunflowers, a hearty plant with thick, “hairy” stems, typically take about 60 days to bloom from planting. About 14 fields are planted each year throughout the 4,300-acre area in early May. The additional plots in the fields intended for viewing are planted later in May so that their blooming is timed to occur through mid-August.

“There are 16 varieties of sunflowers in Missouri,” said Dan Zarlenga, media specialist at the MDC. “The most commonly thought of is the species Helianthus annuus, the common sunflower, which is what is planted at Columbia Bottom.”

During the six-week sunflower viewing period about 978 vehicles per day go to visit the site. The rest of the year averages about 300 vehicles per day.

“If we assume that the additional 678 vehicles per day are there to see the sunflowers, and we assume oneto-four people per vehicle, we can roughly estimate 28,000 – 115,000 visitors for sunflower viewing,” Zarlenga said.

The Columbia Bottom Conservation Area is located at 801 Strodtman Road and can be reached by taking the Riverview Drive Exit from I-270 and travelling north approximately three miles. Columbia Bottom is open every day from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour past sunset.