Fort Wayne, Ind. (AP) — He wasn’t staring at the sunflowers as 47-year-old Alex Babich stood in his backyard in Fort Wayne, Indiana, pushed his neck to see 35 feet in the sky. He saw his roots and his future legacy.
The flower, known as “clover,” was confirmed on Wednesday as the highest sunflower ever measured by the Guinness World Records, stretches as high as a utility pole.
Born and raised in Ukraine, Babich moved to the United States in 1991 at the age of 14 after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Seven years ago, he began to grow Sunflower As symbol His His love for his motherland.
“Sunflowers are Ukraine’s national flower blossoms, so it’s something special for me,” he said.
Babich’s first sunflower was 13 feet, then 15 feet, and then 19 years old. Soon he began to ask himself, “How far can I take this?”
He collected seeds from his tallest specimens to improve his genetic lines, exchanged seeds from other giant sunflower producers, and formulated a secret plant feed that he now calls “family heirlooms.” He planted the various kinds of lingers indoors in the early spring before moving outside. He then sketched the blueprint of the sunflower scaffolding on the napkin and began the building.
Babich said the record-breaking flowers were the result of “years of trial and error.”
“It’s one of my kids,” he said. “You take care of it every day.”
Babich’s 10-year-old son also made an important contribution to his towering flowers that won his name. He climbed onto the scaffolding and placed four-leaf clover on the sunflower leaves.
“I’m going to die one day, but this flower story will live on,” he said. “My children will tell this story to their grandchildren.”
When the measurement date came on September 3rd, Babich was nervous.
Approximately 85 people gathered, including several master gardeners from the local university and representatives of Allen County’s weight and measures. Babich was on a WhatsApp call with representatives of the Guinness World Records. The camera crew was filming, and the drone flew overhead. Even Icy D. Eagle, the mascot of the local Komets ice hockey team, was there, according to Guinness.
They used a 40-foot cherry picker to measure the flowers. The Clover was 35 feet and 9 inches taller than the previous German world record holder.
“It’s very emotional,” Babich said. “It’s good for those who raise giants.”
Growing up amidst the food shortages in Ukraine sparked Babich’s love for gardening. His love The sunflowers have deepened After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“We pray that the war will end and that the killings will stop,” Babich said. “I hope this will inspire some people in the right place. It’s been long enough.”
Sunflower For a long time, it has been a national symbol of Ukraine’s peace, and since 2022 it has been solidarity With the country that fought. In one viral video clip from the beginning of the war, a Ukrainian woman confronted the Russian soldiers and ultimately offered to offer “pat.” Sunflower seeds in your pocket So they grow when you die. ”
1996, Ministers of the United States, Russia and Ukraine I planted sunflowers in Pervomaysk A missile base marking the disarmament of the country’s nuclear weapons. In 1986, after an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that later brought Babich’s family to the United States, scientists planted sunflowers to remove toxins from the soil.
Babich’s Sunflower will soon become the star of a documentary entitled “Bloom” and is set to be released this summer. In the meantime, Babich began planting sunflowers at campsites he visited with his family, and began handing out seed packets to the children at festivals.
The stickers filled in the seed packet are marked with the words “Spread Love – Sunflower Seed.”
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Fernando reported from Chicago.
