Sunflowers for the Birdies: Pot on, wait, or plant out?

[woodlouse]

Hi everyone, I hope you are all staying safe.

I dug out some sunflower seeds from a bird seed mix and sowed them just for a little fun. I figured if they germinated I could dot them around and enjoy their visual appeal, and then just leave them for the birdies to nibble on the seeds.

They seem to be doing very well, and during this sudden burst of hot, sunny weather we are currently experiencing, I've been setting them outside each day so that they experience a little wind and hopefully grow more durable stems.

I'm assuming I cannot attach images until I've posted more, so I'll try to describe as best I can.

They are in regular 3-4" wide pots, about 6" deep. The sunflowers themselves are roughly 6-7" tall with eight developed leaves and clustering growth at the tips. The leaves look healthy. I have no idea what type of sunflower they are. The seeds were completely black, rather than being black with lighter off white stripes down them (my common perception when I think of sunflower seeds). I don't really know anything.

So, my question is, what do I do with them at this stage?

I looked at the MET's long term projections and, naturally, they say light frosts may happen. How hardy are sunflowers once they seem to be well established?

Any personal experience, anecdotes, tried methods etc... would be much appreciated. I live in the Midlands, if that helps.

Regards

P.S.

I'm trying my hand at the three sisters approach of corn, climbing beans/peas and squash in one area. I thought about throwing in sunflowers that grow tall, but read they can be a negative influence on beans. Any first hand knowledge on that would also be very cool.

[quanglewangle]

I buy sunflower seeds from a health food shop; meant for sprouting - this is important since it means they are viable and haven't been roasted. I start them in modules and once they have a leaf or two stick them in the ground.
Because they are originally field-grown they aren't too tall and don't need staking. A block look great in the garden and they also make striking cut flowers. The birds get the left-overs.

I had forgotten about them until I saw this thread. Will get to it tomorrow.

[veggiechicken]

Thanks for the reminder! I don't have much luck with sunflowers - I think I want to grow them too much and its Nature's way of telling me that I can't have everything that I want!

I shall sow some on Sunday, Easter Sunday and from this day forth, even for ever more, Easter Sunday will be the day I sow sunflower seeds.

[Mamzie]

I reckon they have to be pretty tough, we are really lucky and get a natural large blooming area of Sunflowers with no work underneath and around all our bird feeders. We do less than zilch for them, and they are stunning x

[woodlouse]

Quanglewangle: Great name. I honestly don't know the source of the seeds I planted. I just support my local pet shop, rather than a bag of feed I see at the big chain supermarkets with a picture of Bill Oddie on the packaging. I have nothing against Bill Oddie (that I know of), but I have always gone in the direction of a small, private business. I don't know the trail of their stock, apart from wholesalers. They come in bags with a little tie round the top like bread.

No need to read the following at all if you're short on time or attention span. Just an example of nice people doing nice things, while trying to maintain a business. I thought it might be nice to share during this time.

As a side note, during this ongoing situation: The couple that run (hopefully will be able to continue so) my local pet shop have decided to do a delivery service, with social distancing playing it's part. I walked in the shop last week, thinking they were open, and it turned out they were not, but had just come back from the wholesaler and obviously had to open up the shutter... yet, they served me and helped me stock up a little, some with stock from the back that was still not yet unpacked. They gave me their card with the business number naturally on it, and the lady wrote her own mobile number on it too. They both said not to call the business number on the card, but rather call the scribbled down number and they will sort me out. Home delivery.

To put it in context, I have only been going there for maybe four months - just because I didn't know it even existed - and, maybe once or twice, chatted about cats as pets, or birds getting impatient at me because I decided to sleep in, haha. Yet the trust was there. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but what person (a woman in particular) would give out their personal mobile number to a relative stranger? I don't know, I'm just relaying a local pet shop story that I thought was worth sharing in this trying time.

So, back to it. Sunflowers. Any suggestions?


Veggiechicken: Glad that my question became a reminder for you. Hope your sunflowers do well. Any thoughts on why they didn't do well in the past? I cannot believe it is Easter already. This lockdown is really messing with my sense of time.

Mamzie: Wow, interesting and hopeful to hear. I note you are from Wales, and don't do anything particularly special to shield sunflowers. Let them do their thing, it seems. Given the nature of quick changes in temperature and weather conditions (hills, mountains, sea) it would seem sunflowers are indeed quite hardy? I hope so.

Hoping for any other personal experiences?

[Containergardener]

Ive sown some in pots which have all germinated. I will plant them out when bigger and strong enough to battle the slugs.
I find this way works best for me.

[Bren In Pots]

Hoping for any other personal experiences?

My first lot of sunflowers are a couple around 3 in tall they spend the day in the garden then back into the greenhouse at night I'll be carrying on doing this until the danger of frost is over, then they'll get planted in the garden. It sounds like a lot of fuss but it doesn't take long to do.
What I think is funny is I'll have been looking after these plants while in the garden I'll have self seeded sunflowers popping up all over the place.

[nickdub]

I started chitting some sunflower seeds also taken from mixed bird food about 4 days ago. Yesterday they were nearly all showing radicles, so I sowed them in a small tray of compost to be transplanted later.

I wouldn't think they'd stand any sort of frost outside. One possible cheap means of protection is to make a plastic cloche by cutting off the bottom of a large bottle. If you take the cap off you can use a stick to fix it in place. Don't get it too tight to the ground though, if we get really sunny weather you will cook your plants if no air can get in from below. Obviously horticultural fleece is another option.

[veggiechicken]

Today's the day for sowing Sunflowers!

I'm going to empty all the old packets of seed into a jar, give them a shake and scatter them willynilly. The birds/meeces will enjoy them, even if I don't.

The In date seeds will have a bit more care - I'll scatter them on seed trays in the GH.

Its good to have a plan.

[woodlouse]

Thanks for the further insight. My apologies for the late reply.

Nickdub: The idea of chitting sunflower seeds just threw me for a moment. Even with this current mild lockdown, I don't think I would have the inclination for that. But, that aside, a seriously wonderful response. My initial sunflowers are now way too big for the pots they are in. I did the bottle cloche thing last year for young mezuna plants, but that was more protection from those dastardly slugs. My first batch of sunflowers are just too big for such a thing right now. Really looking at long term weather, given the mild days of late and nothing below 5c on the horizon at night outside. I think I may be able to ride it through May.

If not, I have a second batch I decided to get going. I've decided to try my hand planting out the first batch, and then see what happens. Two of them were wilting today, but I think that was due to not placing them outside the day before and being in the greenhouse with this sunny weather of late. I've decide I have nothing to lose.

VeggieChicken: Oops. Missed the actual day, but loving the attitude going forward. My initial intention for growing sunflowers was for the birds and the asthetic. Maybe I get some drab looking sunflowers rocking here and there, so asthetic might not come together, but sunnies for the birdies... they are not so picky. I think I'm good to go. In the end, my intention was good, and the birds get lots of crumpled pastry with potato and lashings of olive oil treats anyway, so sod 'em, the spoiled brats.

Wait, I didn't mean that.

[nickdub]

Thanks for the further insight. My apologies for the late reply.

Nickdub: The idea of chitting sunflower seeds just threw me for a moment. Even with this current mild lockdown, I don't think I would have the inclination for that. But, that aside, a seriously wonderful response. My initial sunflowers are now way too big for the pots they are in. I did the bottle cloche thing last year for young mezuna plants, but that was more protection from those dastardly slugs. My first batch of sunflowers are just too big for such a thing right now. Really looking at long term weather, given the mild days of late and nothing below 5c on the horizon at night outside. I think I may be able to ride it through May.

I more or less chit every sort of seed these days with the only exception being really small cheap stuff like carrot say which I can over sow and would be v tricky to handle when chitted.

I garden in a bit of a wilderness and there are lots of beasties around ready to eat anything I grow at every stage of its development - getting the plants to a stage where they at least have leaves before I put them out means a better chance of them developing into something - for example as a test I sowed about 10 pea seeds unchitted in a small patch of ground last year and got one plant. Other which I chitted first then grew on to about 3" high before planting out did well.

My sunflowers from birdseed are now in a shallow tray of compost in the PT. They are showing signs of developing their first true leaves, so I need to get a move on and put each of them in a large pot.

Happy gardening, Nick

[nickdub]

Potted up seven - so another 8 or 9 to go - they will have to wait for a few days as I have other jobs on the go (very slowly). :-)

[farendwoman]

I’m with you, Nickdub.
I chit almost everything in GU glass dishes with a plastic bottle on top.
OH says I’m just like Tommy Cooper when I start lifting all the plastic bottles to see if anything has started to sprout.
He just stands there saying “Just like that, just like that”.
Of course there’s only a certain age group who will know what I’m on about!!

[farendwoman]

My kitchen

Just like that!!

[Snadger]

Sowed eight sunflowers seeds yesterday that I pillaged from a birdseed mix. My next door neighbour at home swears by this method and we will have a bit of a competition to see who's can grow the tallest.