Sunflowers are incredibly beautiful and can grow to be extremely tall! Therefore, keen gardeners across the globe are wondering how to grow sunflowers to become bright and tall. Sunflowers are the ultimate summer flower, and nothing says that sunny days are ahead quite like sunflowers. Although it can be tempting to grab some sunflower bulbs from the local gardening center, it’s actually much easier than you think to grow sunflowers from seed, not to mention much more rewarding!
The sheer scale of grown sunflowers can seem quite intimidating to novice and experienced gardeners alike; however, the process of growing them is actually very simple. Despite this, the entire process can be rather long winded, so sunflowers are not for those people who want flourishing flowers within a couple of weeks. Keeping patient is the way forward when it comes to successfully bloomed sunflowers.
Sowing the Seeds
First things first, the seeds need to be sown. Around March, you should sow individual seeds in either 7.5 cm pots or in a seed tray. These should be planted at a depth of around 1.5 cm, and good-quality, multi-purpose compost should be used in order to achieve the best results. Additionally, the seeds will need to be well watered from the get-go.
During this initial stage, the pots or seed tray should be placed indoors in a bright and cool position. Additionally, the planted seeds should either be covered with a seed tray lid or clear plastic bag, as this will ensure that they remain warm.
As the seeds grow over time, they’ll need to be transplanted into larger pots and nourished with plenty of water and compost.
By June, the seedlings should have grown to around 30 cm tall, which indicates that they’re ready to be planted out. Ideally, this planting should take place in a simultaneously sheltered and sunny position (for instance, the back of a border).
Sunflowers can’t get enough of fertile, well-drained soil, meaning that a generous application of compost and the mulching of roots is imperative. Furthermore, some well-rotted manure will boost the performance of your sunflowers even more.
Even the most inexperienced of gardeners understand that sunflowers are incredibly top-heavy. Therefore, you’ll have to provide support for them to prevent them from drooping. You might place a steel box section deep in the ground to which you can bind your sunflower to. This is a much more effective solution than flimsy bamboo canes, meaning you can be sure your sunflowers will remain upright in even the harshest of winds.
Although sunflowers are capable of growing in containers, the tallest always stem from the ground.
In order to grow your collection of sunflowers, you can continue to sow some seeds every couple of weeks, which will contribute to their growth until autumn comes to a close.
Caring for the Flowers
The golden rule of caring for sunflowers is not to let them to dry out. In addition to ample watering, you may feed your sunflower plants on a weekly basis to facilitate their growth. Additionally, some added tomato feed will contribute to their strength.
Unfortunately, snails and slugs love to munch on sunflowers, meaning that you’ll need to protect them from such a fate. Instead of using poisonous pesticides that damage wildlife, you can use a handful of pellets around the stems instead. Despite this, these pellets won’t do much against the likes of weevils. In order to protect your sunflowers against these bugs, you can spray a mixture of sunflower oil and water over the flowers and stems.
Get your garden summer ready by planting some delightful sunflowers today.
