Sunflower seeds that I saved

Northwest, OH(Zone 5b)

About mid-summer, we noticed a lone sunflower growing in the soybean field behind our house. Since no one in the area has sunflowers, we guessed that a bird must have sown it from seed in our feeders (or some other source). It was about 30 feet out into the field, and we had just had a rain, so it was pretty muddy. I wanted to go out and get it, and put it in our garden, so I put on my sandals and started out. I had neglected to notice that where I was walking was also where we dumped the dirty cat litter. Oh well, the sandals were rubber and would hose off easily. Yeah, right. I think I've come up with a new recipe for hypertufa. Ohio clay + rainwater + kitty litter + stuff that you throw out with the kitty litter. OMG. Well, anyway, that's not what my question is pertaining to.

I got the sunflower, planted it, and it thrived. Only one large head, but several smaller ones. I let it dry and I just now went out and brought in the large head to get the seeds from it for next year. The smaller ones never developed enough to produce seed. I got a fair amount of seeds from the large head, and they're really small. The sunflower plant itself was about 3 feet tall, and the seed head was about 2½ - 3 inched in diameter. The seeds are a little smaller than popcorn kernels, and more flat of course. I'm hoping they will give me lots of sunflowers next year. Do I need to do anything special with them? And what kind of sunflower might it be that has such small seeds?

Belleville , IL(Zone 6b)

It could be one of the wild flower perennial ones that grow. Not sure of any names. You could put Helianthus in the plantfiles and look for a similar one or Google and select images.

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