Questions on Growing Sunflowers

Variety

• A wide selection of sunflower varieties exist to choose from: giant sunflowers that can grow to 10 to 12 feet tall with flower heads spanning 12 inches or more to delicate dwarf-size sunflowers that reach less than 12 inches high. Sunflowers also now are available in an array of colors, from bright yellow to red, burgundy and orange shades. Deciding what you intend to use sunflowers for is the first question you must answer. Are you planning to harvest the seeds, use the flowers as cut flowers, or in a overall garden design, either mixed with other flowers or as a bright border?

Location

• Sunflowers need a minimum of six hours a day of direct sun, the more the better. More sun will make your sunflower stems strong and healthy, not weak and spindly, which will keep the flower stem from toppling over. Grow sunflowers along walls and fences that face the south or west, where the shade of the wall or fence will not block the sun. Sunflowers are also sensitive to wind, particularly the taller varieties, and need to have a location that will be protected from strong wind.

Care

• Sunflower plants are relatively low maintenance, needing little more than well draining fertile soil, watering, and occasional organic matter or well-rotted manure worked into the soil. The seeds should be planted when the soil temperature is 50 degrees F for fast germination, and no more than 1 inch deep. In five to 10 days, seedlings will appear. As taller sunflower varieties grow, you may want to insert a support stake next to the stem and tie the stem to the stake using a strip of soft cloth, sheet or hosiery. Control weeds around your sunflower plants by regular hand weeding or layering mulch of dried leaves or grass clippings.

Harvest

• About four months after you planted your sunflower seeds, it will be time to harvest the seeds from the flower heads. As the sunflower matures, the underside of the flower will turn yellow. Because birds and squirrels will compete with you for the seeds, you may wish to cover the flower head with netting, cheesecloth or a paper bag with air holes punched in it to deter wildlife. As the flower head begins to bend downward and the backside turns brown, place a paper bag, with ventilation holes, over the entire flower head, secure it at the flower base with a string tie, then cut the flower head from the plant. Make the cut so that there is about 1 foot of stem still attached to the flower. Hang the bag covered flower head upside down in a warm, dry location. After 1 to 2 weeks, take the flower head down and remove the bag. Use your hand to gently rub over the flower seeds while holding it upside down, over paper or a piece of cloth.