Today’s Garden Ideas

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Growing Sunflowers is fairly easy to accomplish from both seed and seedlings. As small as 2 feet and as tall as 12 feet, Sunflowers offer a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors to fit with any type of garden, large or small. Sunflowers are suited to all growing zones so anyone can cultivate them. Their brilliant blooms are quite a showstopper and will attract attention to any garden they grace.

Types of Sunflowers

Contrary to popular opinion Sunflowers are not always yellow. Their colors range from maroon and white to the ever popular gold or yellow. Some Sunflowers like the variety ‘Color Fashion’ are even bicolored with rings of brilliant orange or red running ’round the flower head.

Some Sunflowers are grown for show. At 5 feet tall the ‘Italian White’ Sunflower has lovely ivory petals with a dark brown center. While it produces few seeds, its blooms are very elegant and ornamental.

In smaller gardens the 3 foot ‘Teddy Bear’ blends in nicely with the rest of the flowers. While it has no center its poofy blooms are quite spectacular. In deep yellow these fuzzy flowers look like oversize powder puffs.

If it is Sunflower seeds you are after than no Sunflower variety is better than the ‘‘Sunflower Giganteus’. These flowers, as big as dinner plates, are a true sunny yellow. Their centers are loaded with seeds and the blooms sit on 12 foot stems. The seeds are great to eat on your own or save for the birds to help them through the harsh winter.

Planting Locations

Sunflowers, in general, look best as a backdrop to other small summer and fall bloomers. However do not expect them to fade into the background. Sunflowers are a ‘look at me’ type flower. They will standout no matter where they are planted.

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Try placing the bright yellow ‘Sunrise’ variety at the back of a border garden. At 5 feet tall it makes a nice accent. In the middle of a flower border ‘Music Box’ at only 2 feet will fit in quite well. Its bicolored hues of yellow and orange make quite a dramatic statement.

If you want to use your Sunflowers for indoor arrangements plant them in a separate cutting garden or a vegetable garden. This way you will not have long stems with nothing attached in your showy flower beds. Decapitated Sunflowers do not make for impressive garden design.

Sunflowers can also be used as a privacy screen. Try planting a double row of tall Sunflowers to form a temporary hedge. Planted around a patio, pool, or garden bed these brilliant blooms provide cover and an effective windscreen.

Planting Buddies

Sunflowers work well with just about any other plant. The shorter Sunflower, ‘Sunset’, has mahogany blooms with gold edges. These blend well with wildflowers in a meadow-like setting. Try placing these 3 foot tall flowers with purple ‘Rocket’ Larkspur and red ‘Lollipop’ Gaillardias. This combination will produce a long blooming season.

In a smaller garden the 3 foot tall ‘Prado Red’ Sunflower goes very well with other ‘laid back’ blooms. Try combining Yarrow, Heleniums or Coreopsis with this Sunflower variety.

If you want to use a taller Sunflower then the 7 foot ‘Moonwalker’ Sunflower with its light yellow flowers will go very well with some bolder colored plants. Try adding deep red Hollyhocks or bright pink Cleome.

Purchasing and Planting

Sunflowers can be started from seeds. You will have better luck producing spectacular blooms if you actually purchase Sunflower seeds in packets from the nursery. You might not be so lucky buying the salted Sunflower seeds at the corner convenience store. Although they do taste mighty yummy!

Sunflowers can also be purchased as seedlings. Look for potted plants that are stout with a few healthy leaves. Do not buy them if the seedlings are scraggly or have brown or sagging leaves.

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When planting your Sunflowers outdoors be sure to wait for the last frost to pass. Loosen the soil and work in some compost. Add a vegetable fertilizer to the planting area. However, only use half the recommended amount as too much could cause the Sunflower stalks to weaken. Mix the fertilizer into the soil. Remove any weeds, roots, stones or clumps of earth. Plant your seedlings about 6 inches apart. When they have grown to about 6 inches tall thin to 18 inches apart. Plant your extra seedlings in another area.

Growing Tips

Sunflowers prefer, of course, full sun. If they end up in partial shade their stalks will be spindly. The soil should be well-drained. To help make the blooming season longer sow Sunflowers every two weeks throughout the spring. This way you will have a constant carpet of color.

Sunflower seedlings are a favorite of mice. Protect you new plants by covering them with upside down berry baskets. Do no remove the baskets until the seedlings have at least 4 sets of leaves.

Sunflowers are prone to fungus. If you see yellow or orange on your leaves and your foliage is dropping off the stalk then fungus is present. To help prevent this disease try not to get you Sunflower’s leaves wet. Water at the base of the plant. If you see the fungus destroy all affected parts of the Sunflower.

If you wish to save your Sunflower seeds for eating or planting next year you need to protect them from the birds. Cover the heads of the flowers with paper bags or cheesecloth. When the back of the Sunflower turns brown the bloom can be harvested. Cut the seed head with a few feet of stalk attached. Hang the Sunflower upside down in a cool area to let it dry.

Seasonal Care

Begin in early spring by sowing seeds indoors. Plant in 4 inch peat pots about 5 weeks before the last frost. In summer do not over water. Sunflowers can handle drought conditions rather well. For optimum blooming water deeply once a week during dry spells. In late summer you will need to stake your tall Sunflowers. Use Bamboo stakes and tie the stem to the stake with soft twine.

Quick Facts

Sunflowers can range in height from 2-12 feet. They are an annual that blooms late summer through fall. Sunflowers do well in all zones and prefer full sun and well-drained soil. The seeds of Sunflowers are edible and attract wildlife, especially birds and squirrels. Sunflowers make an excellent cutting plant. Their bright colors ranging from mahogany to yellow offer a dramatic addition to any garden. And best of all, growing Sunflowers just make you smile!!

Tags: claret hybrid, color fashion, gaillardia, heleniums, italian white, lollipop gaillardia, music box, prado red, rocket larkspur, sunflower giganteus, sunflowers, sunrise, sunset, teddy bear, yarrow