Which way do sunflowers point when they can't see the sun?

Wonderful shot, I've never seen anything like this either. I've never noticed them doing that but I do know those I've grown in the past always seemed to face east.

They do not need to see the sun to know in which position in the sky it is during the day. Even during cloudy days they feel the radiation of the sun.

Excellent photo! I've never seen so many sunflowers growing together. They are popular garden plants here, but we usually grow them individually in pots and try to coax them to be as tall as possible. We often have no sun, so they should really be called nosunflowers. Doesn't seem to stop them growing though.

Ive always been fond of sunflowers. I guess on sunless days they're like us all and bow our heads

I can wait to see ours when it bloom.

Beautiful pictures of them. I see the clouds, but I can't tell you about what they do on cloudy days.

Aren't sunflowers just a wonderful yellow! No wonder Van Gogh was so keen on painting them (he was also excited about a new kind of yellow pigment which had just come out and which seemed to be just the right warm, shining shade of yellow. Sadly, it wasn't as permanent as he had hoped and interacts with the other pigments he mixed with it so that his sunflower pictures aren't as bright now as they were when he painted them). Even when the sky is very overcast there is still quite a lot more radiation coming from the part of the sky where the sun is, even though our eyes can't see it. I think that the sunflowers can, however, and will keep following the sun as long as it's visible. I suppose that, at night, though, they must stay still and do a (relatively) quick volte face in the morning when the sun rises again!

Interesting question. I will need to check in some science journal or other Internet source.

'tis a beautiful sight :) there's many patches 'f 'em growin' wild 'twixt here'n lubbock, tx, though i don't make that trek any longer. used to be a field 'f 'em a couple miles from here i liked to ride by (horseback). 's fer what they do when 'tis o'ercast? they still tend to face the brightest skies they can find, lol.

stunning - the are always a beautiful sight to see searching for the Mr Sol

they are yellowly lovely :)

In his book, Lance Armstrong said that he wanted to die among the dandelions in France

I always thought they'd face the sun, no matter the weather. Haven't worked out how they know

When no sun/ligh from the beginning, it gonna die after sprouting. If the sun/light just disappera temporraily, i think they gonna head/face to direction as before the light disappear Cmiiw

@judyev A sunflower in France is a special sight to behold. Vince Van Gogh was rather good at painting them.

Beautiful photo. I enjoyed seeing the vast fields of sunflowers in France, too. I don't know much about their habits, however.

Great shot of that sunshine field. I think they just sort of droop.