Kris Sadeck's sunflowers are often a source of conversation for passersby, who ask him how he managed to grow them so tall.

"They ask me my secret. It's just mostly sun, food and water," said Sadeck.

Standing at least nine feet tall, the flowers line one side of his yard on Cranberry Way in Marion and are of the Mammoth Russian variety.

Sadeck, a student at UMass Dartmouth and therapeutic assistant at Charlton Hospital in Fall River, grew his first sunflowers last year.

"They make nice scenery," he said.

Eventually, Sadeck said the flowers will grow so heavy the stalks will bend. In mid-September he will cut off the flowers and give them to neighbors who want the seeds.