"THAT'S not a sunflower. That's a tree!"

This summer, Mildura resident Sika Wilhelm joyfully looks in his backyard on a daily basis at the tallest sunflower he has seen in his life.

Towering at more than 3.1 metres tall, the monster plant stands well above his boundary fence, and has a face close to 45cm in diameter.

Even the stem is sizable, at more than 10cm thick in places.

Mr Wilhelm ...