Rewilding My Lot

In two years, one Maximilan Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) plant has expanded into a significant clump. Last year these sunflowers grew very tall (12 feet) and splayed out in a rather inconvenient way.

This year I decided to do a “Chelsea Chop” of the Maximilian Sunflowers to reduce their final height, and also to tie the clump together as a bundle to stop it splaying out. These two actions actually mimic what would happen to these plants in their native tall prairie grass setting. Deer would browse on the young plants to reduce their height, and the neighboring tall clump grasses would prop up the tall stems. The blooms, and later seed heads, would still rise above the grasses so that pollinators and birds could find them.

This post from June 2026 describes the pruning and tying process, leaving the Maximilian Sunflower clump looking like this, with the stems about 2 feet tall.

Two months later the stems are 4-6 feet tall.

And here’s a closer view of the original rope.

I tied an additional rope about 2 feet above the original one.

There are no blooms yet, but buds are beginning to form.

There’s some nice shady habitat among the stems. I wonder if anything is living in there.