Help! Crushed sunflower stem.

[Gryfon]

My son brought a leggy sunflower home from Beavers on Monday to grow for a competition they're doing. Trouble is we hadn't planted it, I moved it onto the steps and it blew over during the night. When I went outside and picked it up it looks like the postman has stepped on the stem

It doesn't look too crushed, the stem just seems to have split for a few inches. Is there anything I can do to repair it? I was going to put it in a bigger pot and use a cane to support it but I think I need to put the plant equivalent of a bandage round it!

Thanks!

[Finedon.Dandy]

Dont know if it will recover. If you cut off the stem just below the damage, it may resprout but wont be tall as it will probally give multi heads. Mind you that could still turn a few heads at the competition and is bound to get a smile. I used to be a guider and if a parent rung up explaining what had happened I would find a way to still include the child. Mind you when I did this competition I kept a couple of reserve plants at my own home in case we did get any really bad faliures - we could quietly replace it for the frantic parent. Unfortunatly not all guiders/scout leaders have the time space or reserves to be able to do this. Maybe a call to the leader would help anyway? Good luck - let us know how he gets on.

[Lady Jana Muck]

There's still time to grow an other. I wouldn't call it cheating, more so giving the poor child another chance. I would also have a few words with postman to watch where he is putting his dirty great plates of meat in future it could put your lad off gardening for life.

[Claire72]

I would plant another one and keep quiet, or ask the guider for one of the seeds they used to make it more fair