How to Grow a Sunflower From Only a Kernel

You can't grow a sunflower from a bag of salted sunflower seeds, but you can grow one from a single kernel. Kernels can be gathered from a parent sunflower and used to plant a whole new flower. Start the sunflower indoors but move it outdoors as soon as it begins to germinate, that is when the green sprout begins to break through the seed's shell. Sunflowers grown indoors are not as strong and robust as ones grown outside.

2 paper towels
Sunflower kernel
Spray bottle
Water
Flower pot
Compost or manure soil
Watering can
Wooden stake
Cotton string

Instructions

- 1
  Dampen two paper towels with water.
- 2
  Place the sunflower kernel between them.
- 3
  Fill a spray bottle with water. Spray the paper towel with water to keep it damp for four days or until the kernel begins to germinate.
- 4
  Choose a place to transplant the germinated kernel; somewhere that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day. Poke a 1-inch-deep hole into garden soil with your finger, place the germinated kernel into the soil and cover it over with more soil.
- 5
  Water the soil around the seedling sunflower with a watering can. Keep the soil moist while the sunflower is growing.
- 6
  Tie the maturing sunflower to a stake with cotton string to keep it growing straight and keep it from breaking at the stem.

How to Grow Sunflower Sprouts Indoors

Thin-Leaved Sunflower Information

Growing Sunflowers