# My Sunflower Seeds Are Not Growing to Full Length
Sunflowers are an attractive annual for any garden. You can grow giants that reach 12 feet high with huge 20-inch seed heads, or dwarfs that never get any taller than 2 feet. No matter the variety, any sunflower can be affected by several factors that prevent it from reaching its expected height at maturity.
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Sun and Rain
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Sunflowers, as their name implies, require at least 6 hours of sun each day, and most varieties require a lot of water. If either of these are lacking in your garden, your sunflowers will not be able to manufacture enough food for vigorous growth.
Soil
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Sunflowers develop deep tap roots. Although they will grow in just about any type of soil, they prefer a type that's well-drained and fertile; compacted soil prevents their roots from adequate penetration and stunts their growth.
Nutrition
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Sunflowers grow slowly if they don't get enough nutrition, particularly nitrogen. However, too much fertilizer results in bushy growth. Use compost, bat guano, or a 5-10-10 fertilizer.
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Growing Sunflowers
- Growing Sunflowers 101
- My Sunflowers Are Growing With Brown Spots on Their Leaves
- How to Farm Sunflowers
- What Do Sunflowers Produce?
- Questions on Growing Sunflowers
- How to Cultivate Sunflower Seeds
- Are Sunflower Seeds a Good Snack?
- How Sunflower Seeds Are Taken From Sunflowers
- Growth of Sunflower Seeds
- Tips on Growing Sunflower Seeds
- What Soil Is Best for Growing Sunflower Seeds?
- How Are Sunflower Seeds Dispersed?
