For more than 38 years sunflower geneticist Tom Heaton has been researching, testing and developing ornamental sunflowers. His breeding, production, and wholesale company, NuFlowers LLC in Woodland, CA, is one of the larger producers and suppliers of ornamental sunflower seeds in the United States. It is also the only company to offer the single-head, red-petal sunflower called ProCut Red, a real breeding breakthrough, according to Heaton..

“Olga [Heaton’s wife] and I are both plant breeders and we are doing all we can to expand the color range and give growers more choices, which we hope will find their place in floral arrangements,” Heaton told The Produce News.

“We … want to see one of our sunflowers in every bouquet at every corner market, every florist and every farmer’s market,” Olga said in a written statement. “We think sunflowers can be used for any occasion and we want to make that happen.”

After completing his doctorate in genetics at the University of California-Davis, Heaton directed sunflower research at leading international seed companies and traveled to more than 40 countries to research sunflowers. His long career in breeding and research has allowed him to amass a large collection of ornamental sunflower lines and traits, which serve as the foundation of his ongoing genetics research.

When breeding ornamentals for the cut flower market, the focus is on novelty - mainly in color and petal shape. “A lot of the cut flower concerns have to do with transportation, when they cut the flowers and ship them,” Heaton went on to say. “The flower has to have certain kinds of petals so it ships well. And it must have a good vase life with an ability to rehydrate easily.”

Every sunflower the company offers is the result of at least six years of research and thousands of plants are grown each year in Heaton’s breeding plots, according to a news release. Also, almost all of its ornamental sunflowers are pollen-free, which eliminates pollen drop on furniture and allows even people allergic to sunflower pollen to enjoy a bouquet of fresh sunflowers.

NuFlowers’ most popular ornamental is ProCut Orange, which has orange petals and a black center. While many of its varieties clearly look like a sunflower, others look more like a carnation, dahlia or another flower species.

“We take pride in our customers saying, ‘That doesn’t even look like a typical sunflower,’ “ said Olga in a written statement. “That means we have done our job well and met our objective of expanding the use and appreciation of sunflowers.”

NuFlowers LLC is a wholesale supplier of unique sunflower. It has a retail division sales website, SunflowerSelections.com, from which anyone can purchase its seeds.