The huge plant has grown from a humble seed planted in the garden of the home of Eve Fielding, in Margate, Kent.
Eve, 48, had sown a handful of seeds as part of a light-hearted competition with her four-year-old granddaughter, and planted this one as a spare.
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| Healthy height: Eve Fielding was shocked to see her sunflower grow to 23ft |
She watered it every day but didn't give it any special attention and says she expected it to grow to around 12ft, just like the dozens of other flowers she's planted over the years.
But to her amazement it soon shot past the height of her other blooms - and shows no sign of stopping.
It now towers well above the mother-of-two, who is 5ft 2in, and could even break the world record of 26ft 4in.
Eve said: ‘It's enormous - I really can't believe it's grown this tall.
‘I planted a few seeds with my granddaughter so we could have a race to grow the biggest one.
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| Eve puts the sunny coastal weather, a sheltered spot and warm south facing wall down to the incredible growth |
‘This was one of the leftover ones so I thought I might as well sow it and see what happened.
‘I watered it every day, but I didn't put anything special in the soil or anything daft. And it just carried on growing.
‘This is by far the biggest sunflower I've ever had - usually they're around 12ft.
‘My neighbours and visitors have all been quite surprised and shocked at the size - they think it's a beast.
‘I've heard of people talking to their plants to make them grow and I've never done that, but I have started telling it how well it is doing since it got really big.’
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| The Guinness World Record Holder! Hans-Peter Schiffer's Record Holder Sunflower |
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's tallest sunflower was an incredible 26ft 4in (8.03m).
It belonged to Hans-Peter Schiffer and was measured in Kaarst-Voorst, Germany, on August 17, 2009.
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| The sunflower head can grow to this size! Grown by Emily Martin in 1983 |
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