The photo looks just like one I've got - except in mine it is a friend of mine who is over 6 feet tall standing in front of the sunflowers, looking every bit as dwarfed by them.

Mine were MAMMOTH, which I believe is a very old variety. The seed heads on mine were indeed mammoth. This is not a difficult seed to find. Actually, when someone has inexpensive seeds, the sunflower they carry will very likely be Mammoth. I do remember that my soil was particularly good in that spot that year. I had used the row along the fence as my composting row the summer before, so it was very fine, rich soil.

I will look around for my photograph. Just like yours, the person looks to be very tiny, but he is really a great big guy. Carmellia

Oh Carmellia thank you for the possible identification! I'm ecstatic that it could be Mammoth. Me and my dad just reccently bought sunflower seeds, I wonder if we picked up Mammoth...whatever the case I am surely going to get those this season, they are so cartoonish!

Do they need extensive staking or are they pretty sturdy on their own?

Max