How to Grow Sunflowers
Learning how to grow sunflowers is an option for any garden, because the sunflower’s bright colors tend to brighten peoples’ moods and add vibrancy to any home garden. Sunflowers can grow over 20 feet tall and bloom over 2 feet in diameter. These are some of the most striking flowers you can have in your garden.
Or is a sunflower a flower?
Some people consider sunflowers to be vegetables. Others swear that it’s only a flower. Either way, sunflowers are a great asset to the gardener’s world.
Why Grow Sunflowers?
Sunflowers have many different uses. Bakers use sunflower products in their breads and cakes, while many people eat salted sunflower seeds (insides) as a convenient snack. Sunflowers are used to make fragrances, body paint and clothing dyes.
Aside from being a beautiful addition to flower bouquets, sunflowers are used for a great deal of practical purposes.
Planting Sunflower Seeds
Sunflowers are annual summer bloomers. When planting sunflowers you should choose from among Mammoth sunflowers, Mexican sunflowers, Autumn Beauties, Moonshine, Moulin Rouge sunflowers at your local gardening outfit as these tend to be the easiest to grow. Buy a pack of seeds and prepare to plant right after the winter ends.
Be sure to plant the sunflower seeds in the early- to mid-spring season, when the weather stops being so frosty. so that they can grow healthily for a mid-summer bloom.
If you want to plant sunflowers indoors, use a pot. If you want to learn how to grow sunflowers in your garden or lawn, make sure you have a lot of space, since sunflowers require it. Sunflowers need to grow anywhere between 1 to 3 feet apart from one another.
Transplanting Sunflower Seeds
How to Grow Sunflowers
If you’re transplanting your sunflowers into the garden, make sure you plant giant sunflowers 3 feet apart. This means any new row of sunflowers must begin at least 3 feet from the giant sunflowers.
Regular-sized sunflowers can be planted two feet apart from each other (in the row), while the rows themselves should remain three feet apart from one another. Miniature sunflowers seem too small for this precaution at first, but they’ll need their room soon enough.
Miniature Sunflower Planting
When planting miniature sunflowers, plant your sunflower seeds one foot apart, but keep three feet of room between each miniature sunflower row. Make sure you choose your planting ground accordingly. Sunflowers tend to lean toward the East where the sun rises, so clear out a spot to plant your sunflowers to expose them to the morning sun.
It takes about two to three months for sunflowers to mature.
When learning how to grow sunflowers, it’s important to know that many, if not most, sunflower types don’t grow very well in sandy soil. Grow your sunflowers in rich, deep soil where they have room to extend their roots.
The quality of the soil is crucial for growing giant sunflowers, since these giants require a lot of the earth’s nutrients. In terms of the upkeep of your soil during sunflower planting, it’s good to fertilize your soil every now and then. Adding phosphorus and potassium helps the sunflowers achieve full, giant blooms in the sun.
Harvesting Sunflower Seeds
Harvesting sunflower seeds should take place when the sunflower is past its prime bloom period and starts to shrink and shed its petals. Cut the head and upper part of the sunflower stalk, so there are a few inches left for it to grow again. Hang-dry the stalks and rub together two dried sunflower heads to release the seeds of the sunflower.
Keep a few sunflower seeds for yourself. Sunflower seeds are not just for the birds, but makes a tasty snack. Sunflower seeds also add flavor to a loaf of baked breads.
Sunflowers come in many varieties and make a lively addition to any yard or garden. Growing sunflowers is fairly simple, although you have to keep in mind they can grow tall and wide.
Many counties in rural and suburban areas have fairs with giant sunflower bloom contests. Entering a sunflower contest is a fun way to get involved in your local community. You might even achieve the largest bloom in your region, if you learn how to grow sunflowers, choose your planting strategy wisely and nourish your seeds with an expert’s care.