Sunflowers

[Nicos]

Anyone growing these this year? I have about 5 varieties to fill a patch 12' x5'. Was great last year once we kept the slugs off!!

[pigletwillie]

I have just pricked out 3 dozen that are about 16" tall for our cut flower patch. We grew some monsters last year but nearly ended up errecting scaffolding to keep the blighters vertical, hence the shorties this year.

[JennieAtkinson]

I grew a dwarf variety last year - were supposed to be 18" tall. Just about managed to get to 4" with a few leaves and I had two flowers!

Am trying again this year .........

[Green Great]

I too grew a dwarf variety and the reached about 12", with flower head diameters of about 5". However im back onto the large this year as with them you can never accurately pick a height.

[Elmo]

I would really like to grow some sunfloweres this year can anyone suggest a good reliable variety?

[Nicos]

Don't know enough about them to advise you on a particular type..but this is the selection we have:-
Russian Giant -10'
Giant Single -12'
Claret 4-6' Chocolate/red
Velvet Queen 5' -crimson and multi headed (did v well last year)
The Bee's Knees -4-5' (pollen free)
Elite Sun - 4'
Autumn Time -4'
Oranges and Lemons 3'
Dwarf Yellow Spray -2'

Oh...that's more than I thought I had!!! Oh well, got plenty of room! Will probably sow them this weekend.

[andrewo]

I always go for the tall ones, fantastic to collect seed off and great for growing beans up.

[GardenFan]

Here's one I grew last year, I think I will have a go again this year. It was around the 8 foot mark, it was so tall I had to tie it to the tree thats next to it

[blossom]

gardenfan, is that grown in a pot?

[GardenFan]

Sure was, I grew it in pots and potted it on as it got bigger and bigger. The final pot needed to be a heavy weight number with a brick in the bottom (but not over the drainage hole). It allowed me to move it around until I found a good home for it.

[blossom]

Brilliant. My eveil Mum, after I bought a load os sunflower seeds told me I couldn't grow them in pots as the roots are too deep. I will have a go now afterall.

[GardenFan]

As with most things with gardening, don't always follow other folks advice to the letter, find what works for you in your garden/plot everybodies soil, climate and conditions are different.

If you keep repotting as it grows it won't run out of room and effect growth, you just need to stay on top of it, keep it well watered and you will be fine. I recomend that you get a heavy pot with extra weight as I did and find some where to secure it. In a pot its prone to falling over due to the top weight and the wind on that weight so if you lack a heavy pot then find a secure point for it. I ended up using a old tree trunk to lodge my pot behind for extra stability. I also kept the stalk when I cut it down and dried it out in my shed, it has loads of uses but I intend to keep it for helping grow this years sunflower.

[Shortie]

Does anyone know a quick way to shell the seeds when harvested to put in fruit and nut mixes??

[andrewo]

You just leave them to dry somewhere dry and then bash the heads over a tarp or just run your fingers over them, the seeds will just pop out.

[andrewo]

Make sure it's not your best tarp as you may want to get married on that some day