Ideally, sunflowers should get full sun for at least eight hours a day, Wasser says. Immature flower buds of the sunflower exhibit solar tracking , and on sunny days, the buds will follow the sun across the sky from east to west. By dawn, the buds will have returned to face eastward. However, as the flower bud matures and blossoms, the stem stiffens and the flower becomes fixed facing the east. Flowers of the wild sunflowers seen on roadsides do not follow the sun, and their flowering heads face many directions when mature.
The leaves do exhibit some solar tracking. In Greek mythology , the story of the nymph Clytie and Helios the sun god is one of love and betrayal. Clytie loves Helios and at first, he loves her too. But soon he betrays Clytie and falls in love with Leucothea, daughter of Orchamus.
Because of her jealousy, Clytie tells Leucothea's father of the relationship. Helios is only angered by her decision and he punishes her by burying her alive.
Clytie, though, still loves Helios and lays naked for nine days staring at the sun, without food or water. On the ninth day, she becomes a flower — the heliotrope or sunflower — and turns toward the sun. Some archaeologists suggest that sunflower may have been domesticated before corn. The various American Indian tribes used the sunflower in many ways: Seed was ground or pounded into flour for cakes, mush or bread; some tribes mixed the meal with other vegetables, such as beans, squash and corn; and the seed was cracked and eaten for a snack.
There also are references that they squeezed the oil from the seed and used it to make bread. Each sunflower head can contain as many as 1, to 2, seeds. Each seed can be quite different when it comes to appearance, but the most common kind used for snacking has a black and white striped pattern on the hull. Other types of seeds such as the white or black sunflower seeds are fully edible, but are typically used for other purposes, such as for sunflower oil.
Do I need to bring them in where it's warmer or is it too late? We would not advise eating the moldy seeds. Unfortunately, if the others were kept in the same bag, they may have mold spores on them despite looking alright. Planted six seeds this spring. Five survived and now are from eight to ten feet tall. One of them has a head about ten inches in diameter and drooping over. What, if anything do I do with it? My first time for Sunflowers. What do I do with them this fall?
We have been stationed in Germany for almost a year. I decided to buy some bags of sunflower seeds for the birds and one of the seeds germinated in my flower bed. I left it alone to see if it would grow. It is now approximately 4 feet tall. The interesting thing is that it is one stalk with 3 flower heads on it. Is this a normal thing? One head is now opened, second is half opened and 3rd is just starting to open.
I can send a photo if you need to see it. Yes, this is normal! Many sunflower varieties produce more than one flower, while others typically the giant ones only produce one.
Planted year old seeds. Plants instead of growing leaves on the main stock new arms with leaves and very small flowers grow. First time this has happened to me. Plants are six feet tall now, and very bushy, four feet wide. Unless the main stem was somehow damaged…? Sunflowers will branch out if damaged. We got a small package of sunflowers in July to plant. Will they last until next year or should we go ahead and plant them now and try to retrieve some of the seeds for next year?
Sunflower seeds will last until next spring without issue, as long as they are kept in a cool, dry place. Skip to main content. You are here Gardening » Growing Guides. How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Sunflowers.
By Catherine Boeckmann. In most regions, this will fall between April and mid-July. In the south, this will probably occur in mid-March or early April. Sunflowers dislike having their roots disturbed, which is why we recommend direct-sowing instead of transplanting. Sunflowers grow best in locations with direct sunlight 6 to 8 hours per day ; they require long, hot summers to flower well.
Choose a location with well-draining soil. They have long tap roots that need to stretch out; in preparing a bed, dig down 2 feet in depth and about 3 feet across. Sunflowers thrive in slightly acidic to somewhat alkaline soil pH 6.
Sunflowers are heavy feeders, so the soil needs to be nutrient-rich with organic matter or composted aged manure. Or, work in a slow release granular fertilizer 8 inches deep into your soil. If possible, plant sunflowers in a spot that is sheltered from strong winds, perhaps along a fence or near a building. Larger varieties may become top-heavy and a strong wind can be devastating.
Before planting, decide whether or not you want to grow a fun sunflower tower. If you wish, you can plant multiple seeds and thin them to the strongest contenders when the plants are six inches tall. Give plants plenty of room, especially for low-growing varieties that will branch out.
Make rows about 30 inches apart. For very small varieties, plant closer together. A light application of fertilizer mixed in at planting time will encourage strong root growth to protect them from blowing over in the wind.
Experiment with plantings staggered over 5 to 6 weeks to keep enjoying continuous blooms. If you see birds scratching around for the seeds, spread netting over the planted area until seeds germinate.
See more ways to keep birds away from your garden. Check out this video to learn how to plant sunflowers:. Caring for Sunflowers While the plant is small, water around the root zone, about 3 to 4 inches from the plant.
To protect the plant, it may help to put snail or slug bait around the stem. Once the plant is established, water deeply though infrequently to encourage deep rooting. Unless the weather is exceptionally wet or dry, water once a week with several gallons of water. Feed plants only sparingly; overfertilization can cause stems to break in the fall. Tall species and cultivars require support.
Bamboo stakes are a good choice for any plant that has a strong, single stem and needs support for a short period of time. Birds and squirrels will show interest in the seeds.
If you plan to use the seeds, deter critters with barrier devices. As seed heads mature and flowers droop, you can cover each one with white polyspun garden fleece. If you have deer , keep them at bay with a tall wire barrier. Curious deer may bite the heads off of young sunflowers. Sunflowers are relatively insect-free. A small gray moth sometimes lays its eggs in the blossoms.
Pick the worms from the plants. Downy mildew , rust , and powdery mildew can also affect the plants. If fungal diseases are spotted early, spray with a general garden fungicide. This year I chose Mammoth. What am I doing wrong? The first is pest damage. The larvae of certain sunflower pests may not always be visible especially on tall varieties because the larvae are tiny and they feed on developing seeds and heads. Damage often results in shrunken or malformed sometimes multiple heads.
The larvae of sunflower seed weevils and sunflower midges are the primary culprits. The larvae over winter in the soil. Tilling in the fall and again in the spring and practicing crop rotation will help minimize infestations.
Herbicide drift or chemical residue in the soil is another common cause of multiple heads on sunflowers. This happened to my neighbor this year. In her case, she didn't actually plant them, the birds and squirrels feeding at my bird feeders did. When sunflowers sprouted in her backyard she decided to leave them alone.
As they grew, they developed multiple heads. The seeds carried to her yard from my feeders were black oil sunflower seeds. Advertisement I imagine they were harvested from commercially grown sunflower crops that were grown in large fields.
Even if these fields were not treated with herbicides, crops in nearby fields may have been. Meanwhile, a few weeks later and a mere 25 yards away, the mammoth sunflowers planted in my garden bloomed normally-none of them developed multiple heads.
Could her multiple heads could have been herbicide drift? Neither of us uses chemicals on our yards or gardens so it would have to have been the seeds. It remains a mystery. Sunflowers are native to North America. In the wild they usually have multiple heads-up to 20 heads per flower is the norm. These wild seeds make up the genetic basis for the domesticated and hybrid seeds we see today.
Could yours be cross-pollinating with nearby wild sunflowers? It's just another possibility. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
0コメント