Things To Do: March 2008
Grow Sunflowers
You can grow a sunflower in the tiniest of spots – in fact you can even use a pot. Our tips will help. Just make sure there’s plenty of room for your sunflower to shoot up!
Site and soil preferences
Average to fertile soil under a hot sun.
Direct sowing
Sow seed 5cm (2in) deep and spaced 45cm (18in) apart in borders. Water seedlings regularly and, when growing tall forms, feed sparingly with a liquid fertiliser when 60cm (2ft) high. Avoid splashing water or fertiliser solution on the stems or leaves.
Starting in pots
Use 7.5cm (3in) pots and a good sowing compost. Sow one seed 2.5 cm (1in) deep per pot. Water, and either cover with polythene or bubble plastic to retain heat. Alternatively, place pots on a heated bench, or in a propagator with the temperature set at 13°C (55°F).
Remove the covers when the leaves appear. Plant seedlings outside when they’re large enough to be handled and the root system is well developed. Add garden compost to the soil if it is heavy or infertile.
Cutting flowers
Growing sunflowers for cut blooms is best done in a section of garden put aside especially for this use. You can then take as many as you wish without spoiling the display. Because high yields take priority over beauty, plant the seeds closer – 20cm (8in) apart – and avoid using nitrogen-rich fertilisers that promote leaf production at the expense of flowers. Average soil is best – the aim is to encourage more flowers than leaves.
For continuity of blooms for floral arrangements, sow a succession of sunflowers every fortnight for six weeks in the early part of the growing season. In a hot summer, each cycle, from sowing to blooming, will take about 60 days.
Pick flowers early in the day, but wait until the sun has dried the dew. Remove leaves that are low on the stem, leaving just two or three higher up, near the flower’s face. Place the flowers in a bucket filled with water, and leave them to stand for several hours in a cool room before placing in a vase. Change the water every few days. Blooms can last up to a fortnight when kept in water.
Problem solver
In exposed, windy sites the taller kind with giant flowers must be staked, or they’ll end up at 45° to the ground. Also, beware of pigeons and slugs when the plants are still young.