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When can i plant sunflower seeds


Growing Sunflowers: Plant & Harvest Sunflowers đŸŒ»

Nothing says summer like bright rows of brilliant Helianthus flowers, commonly known of as sunflowers. Easy to grow, this North American native is a fun plant to add to your vegetable or flower garden. Most people think of sunflowers as the towering varieties filling fields in the prairie states. However, many garden cultivars are designed to be compact and grown in a wide range of hardiness zones. You can choose sunflowers in many different colors featuring heights between 4 to 12 feet.

Often seen as a border plant to give height to the back of a flower bed, sunflowers are multipurpose. They provide beauty to your garden and are a food source for birds and squirrels. Cutting them brings their sunny faces inside for floral arrangements. Many sunflowers feature big, beautiful blooms and can be harvested for their tasty seeds or a rich sunflower oil. If you’re wondering how to plant sunflowers and how to take care of sunflowers in your garden, look no further. All you need is a few simple tips to get the most out of your garden sunflowers.

How to Plant Sunflower Seeds

Planting sunflower seeds is a quick and easy task. By taking the time to choose the right location and prepare the soil, you give these plants the strongest possible start.

  1. Choose a Sunny Spot

    2. It almost goes without saying that sunflowers love the sun. Look for a spot with plenty of sun for these fast-growing annuals. Think about what you’ll plant around or near your sunflowers. Most sunflowers grow quite tall and may cast shade on other plants. The short growing season of between 70 to 100 days allows for planting throughout most gardening zones.

  2. Prepare the Soil

    3. Well-draining soil is essential. If your soil is heavy, mix in up to 4 inches of compost. Add nutrients to soil with a complete fertilizer prior to planting. Mix your compost and fertilizer into the top 6 inches of your garden bed. Slightly acidic soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5 is ideal. A home soil test can help you determine what your garden soil needs.

  3. Time It Right

    4. Choosing when to plant sunflower seeds requires a bit of waiting. Plant sunflowers in late spring, once the ground is nice and warm. Most sunflowers germinate when soil has reached 70 to 85 degrees F. The best time to plant sunflowers is just before the soil reaches this temperature. Look for a ground temp of between 60 to 70 degrees. For most areas, this will be approximately three weeks after the last frost. Planting sunflowers indoors gives you a head start on the growing season. Simply tuck the seeds into peat pots around the time of your last spring frost. They should be the right size for transplant once the soil is the appropriate temperature.

  4. Plant the Seeds

    5. Different sunflowers require different planting depths and spacing. How to grow sunflowers from seed and how deep to plant sunflower seeds depends on your specific sunflower cultivar. In general, plant sunflower seeds at least 1/2 inch deep. Space seeds 6 inches apart. If planting in rows, you’ll want 2 to 3 feet between each row. Plants should be thinned out in a few weeks to the proper spacing. If soil temperatures are just right, sunflower seedlings will sprout up in 10 to 14 days.

    Growing sunflower seeds requires space. To start sunflowers indoors, plant three seeds per each 3- to 4-inch peat pot. A soilless planting media will give you the best drainage. Indoor germination usually happens in 6 to 10 days. You can enjoy continuous blooms through summer by planting seeds every couple of weeks. With consecutive plantings, you’ll have beautiful sunflower blooms right up until the first frost of fall.

  5. Give Plenty of Moisture

    6. Because sunflower seeds contain large amounts of natural oil, they require a lot of water for germination. After planting, water the ground thoroughly. Keep the soil moist with frequent, light watering until germination occurs. If starting indoors, cover your pots with clear plastic wrap to keep in moisture. Remove the plastic as soon as the seeds sprout.

  6. Thin the Seedlings

    7. Once the sunflower seedlings have their first set of true leaves, thin the seedlings to the recommended row spacing for your variety. Small sunflowers may require only 6 inches between each plant, while large varieties might need up to 3 feet. Closer spacings are possible for garden aesthetics, but crowded plants will produce smaller flowers.

    Indoor sunflower seedlings should be reduced to one seedling per cup. Simply choose the strongest sunflower and pinch back the others.

Growing & Caring for Sunflowers

Learning how to grow sunflowers isn’t difficult – they almost grow themselves. And once sunflowers begin to grow, they grow quickly. Sunflower care only requires a few basic growing tips.

Harvesting Sunflower Seeds

Harvesting sunflower seeds is the perfect way to enjoy both the beauty of the flowers in your garden and their delicate seeds. Sunflowers produce a bounty of seeds that can be added to breads, eaten on salads or even turned into a creamy nut-free sunflower butter. Growing a seed production variety will increase your harvest of edible sunflower seeds. Expect to harvest seeds approximately 30 days after pollination.

  1. Beat the Birds

    2. You’ve spent all this time learning how to grow sunflower seeds – don’t let the birds eat your harvest! Begin checking for seed maturity in early fall. The seeds will begin to face towards the ground as the flower petals dry and fall out. Once ready, simply cut off seed heads with a generous amount of stem attached. Hang in a warm, dry place away from rodents and insects.

  2. Don’t Rush Things

    3. Wait until the back of the sunflower head turns brown before harvesting the seeds. Although you can pick out mature seeds earlier, the browning of the head allows for the easiest and quickest removal.

  3. Cover the Sunflower Heads

    4. Seeds naturally fall out of the flower heads as they dry. To catch all the seeds you can, place netting or a paper sack with air holes over each head.

  4. Remove the Seeds

    5. Once thoroughly dry, seeds are easy to remove. You can grab a sunflower head in each hand and rub their faces together to dislodge the seeds. Or, you may be able to simply brush seeds out with your hands or a stiff brush.

  5. Store for Flavor

    6. To keep sunflower seeds as fresh as possible, store in airtight glass jars in the refrigerator. This keeps moisture levels low. If storing outside of the refrigerator, consider adding desiccant packages to absorb excess moisture. Many people store raw seeds in cloth bags in dark, dry areas to encourage air circulation.

Types of Sunflowers

Sunflowers come in a wide range of sizes and colors. Some of the most popular garden sunflowers include:

Common Questions About Growing Sunflowers

How much sun do sunflowers need?

Sunflowers need full sun for the best growth. Although only six hours of sun is required, the more sun a sunflower gets, the better the growth. If you crowd plants too closely together, the leaves will be starved for sunlight. This causes the plant to grow too quickly and produce weak stems as plants reach up for more light.

How fast do sunflowers grow?

Sunflowers grow quickly. Many can achieve up to 12 feet of growth in only 3 months. With the proper growing conditions, sunflowers should reach maturity in 70 to 100 days after planting.

How long do sunflowers live?

Most sunflowers are annuals. They germinate in late spring, bloom during the summer and die back at the first frost of fall. When considering how to grow a sunflower that lasts all summer, the best plan is to plant your sunflowers every few weeks to extend bloom time.

Are sunflowers annuals or perennials?

While most varieties of this bright beauty are annual sunflowers, meaning they will not come back the following growing season, they may self-germinate from dropped seeds if you leave the heads on the plants throughout the winter. The perennial Maximillian sunflower features small blooms in late summer and early fall. It can be grown as a perennial up to hardiness Zone 3.

Can you grow sunflowers in a pot?

You can grow many small varieties of sunflowers in pots and containers. Dwarf sunflowers are perfect for growing in pots. Instead of featuring one sunflower on a single stalk, dwarf varieties are bushy and may feature more than one bloom per plant. The sunflowers grow up to five inches in diameter on stalks up to three feet tall. No need to wonder about how to care for sunflowers in pots, this annual plant has the same needs for water, fertilization and sunlight in either gardens or containers.

Why do my sunflowers begin to face the ground?

When sunflowers are young they exhibit heliotropism. This means their flowering heads track the sun as it moves across the sky. As the stem matures and becomes woody, the tracking usually becomes less noticeable. The leaves may still follow the sun, but the flower will not. In many varieties, maturity causes the sunflower to face the ground, which reduces the risk of bird damage.

3 Options for Lots of Beautiful Blooms

Sunflowers are among the most colorful and cheerful plants for gardens. They are quick to grow, attractive to pollinators, and downright beautiful. If you’re wondering when to plant sunflowers for the greatest chance of success, you’ve come to the right place. This article introduces three different planting times for sunflowers and discusses the pros and cons of each method. You’ll also find step-by-step instructions for getting the job done.

There are many different varieties of sunflowers. All can be started from seed by planting at one of three times.

Sunflower planting times

As a horticulturist and former cut flower farmer, I’ve grown dozens of different varieties of sunflowers. Over the years, I’ve found that knowing when to plant sunflowers can mean the difference between a large and successful show of blooms and one that’s less than ideal. If you plant them at the wrong time, the seeds could rot or they could fail to germinate. Did you know that there are three different times to plant sunflowers? Each one occurs in a different location, demands a different level of effort, and requires different tools and equipment for getting the job done.

Your options for when to plant sunflowers include:

1. Early spring – sow sunflowers indoors, under grow lights
2. Mid spring – sow sunflowers outdoors, directly into the garden
3. In winter – sow seeds in plastic milk jugs outdoors using a method known as winter sowing.
Let me share the ins and outs of each of these three sunflower growing options.

Sunflowers are easy to grow from seed planted in the early spring, mid spring, or even the winter using different techniques.

Option 1 – Early Spring: When to plant sunflowers indoors

Admittedly, this is my least favorite time and method for planting sunflowers, simply because it requires special equipment and more attention from the gardener. However, it’s probably the safest way to grow sunflowers since the young seedlings are protected from the elements and grown in a very controlled environment. Watering and fertilizing chores are carefully managed, and you have better control over how and when the plants are eventually placed out into the garden. This timing involves sowing sunflower seeds indoors under grow lights and then transplanting the seedlings out into the garden when the danger of frost has passed for your growing zone.

Tools you’ll need:

Peat pellets are a simple way to start sunflower seeds with no mess.

Steps for planting sunflowers indoors under grow lights in early spring

Step 1: Decide on the proper timing
When to plant sunflowers indoors depends on when your last spring frost occurs. Here in Pennsylvania, our last spring frost is usually around May 15th. From your own region’s last frost date, subtract 4 weeks; that’s your target date for planting sunflower seeds indoors. If you plant too early, they’ll be leggy and weak. If you plant too late, they won’t be large enough when it’s time to move the plants out into the garden.

Step 2: Sow the seeds
I like to use peat pellets for planting sunflower seeds indoors because there is no root disturbance when you move them out into the garden. Plus, peat pellets are easy to use. But a pot of potting soil works just as well for starting sunflower seeds. Sow one seed per peat pellet or small pot. Plant to a depth of a half inch. Cover the seed with soil and water it in.

If you don’t have peat pellets, regular garden pots also make great containers for starting sunflower seeds.

Step 3: Turn on the grow lights
Growing sunflowers indoors means you’ll need grow lights. Sunflower seedlings get very leggy when grown with just window light, even if it’s a bright window. Leggy seedlings often result in mature plants with weak stems that don’t stand up straight in the garden. Use grow lights and keep them 4-5 inches above the tops of the plants. Run them for 16-18 hours per day.

Step 4: Care for the seedlings
Keep the seedlings watered and fertilize once a week with a liquid organic fertilizer.

Step 5: Move the plants outside
Another downside of using this method of when to plant sunflowers is the need to slowly acclimate the seedlings before transplanting them outdoors full time. About a week before your last frost is expected, take the seedlings outside for a few hours every day. Start them in the shade, and then gradually increase the amount of sunlight they receive every day, as well as the amount of time the plants are outdoors, until they’re outside day and night. Now it’s time to plant them into the garden.

Sunflower seedlings started indoors are ready to go out into the garden about 4 weeks after sowing the seeds.

Option 2 – Mid Spring: When to plant sunflowers outdoors

For me, this is the easiest and most practical way to grow sunflowers. If you’re wondering when to plant sunflowers with the least amount of effort, this is it! The seeds are sown directly out into the garden. You get to skip the grow lights, acclimatization, transplanting, and general babying your sunflower plants. This is the tough-love version of growing sunflowers. The biggest downside to sowing sunflowers outdoors is the pests. Birds, chipmunks, and mice enjoy eating the seeds, and slugs, bunnies, and deer sometimes nibble on the plants themselves (more on managing these pests later). I always over-plant, knowing that I may lose some of the plants to these critters.

Tools you’ll need:

Directly sowing sunflower seeds into the garden is the easiest method of planting and the one I use most in my own garden.

Steps for planting sunflowers outdoors in mid spring

Step 1: Decide on the proper timing
When to plant sunflowers outdoors depends on your last average frost date, just like it does when starting the seeds indoors. Except you can delay the process by a month or more. I start planting sunflower seeds within 7-10 days of my last frost date, and I continue to sow more seeds for several weeks beyond that date. This gives me a staggered bloom time and keeps my garden colorful for the longest amount of time.

Step 2: Prepare the planting site
When planting sunflower seeds outdoors, choose a site that receives a minimum of 8 hours of full sun per day (They don’t call them sunflowers for nothing!). Remove any weeds and cultivate or turn the soil over a bit to loosen it. If you’d like, you can amend the planting area with a few shovels full of compost, but you don’t need to. Average garden soil is just fine for these tough plants.

Step 3: Plant the seeds
Sow the sunflower seeds directly into the garden soil. Use a trowel to dig individual holes about 1-inch-deep, or dig a trench or furrow to plant a row of seeds. Plant the seeds about 6 to 8 inches apart for dense plantings or 12 to 15 inches apart for wider spacing (this is ideal for branching sunflower varieties that produce multiple flowering branches, rather than those that produce a single flower on a tall, upright stalk). Don’t sow the seeds deeper than 1 inch or they could fail to germinate.

Step 4: Thin the seedlings if necessary
If you sowed the seeds a little too thick, don’t be afraid to thin out some of the seedlings. Try to dig them out carefully because if there is a decent root system intact, you can move the thinned seedlings to a new spot in the garden.

A friend who grows cut flowers on her farm plants her sunflower seeds in a grid, using a mesh net as a planting guide to ensure proper spacing.

Option 3 – Winter: When to plant sunflowers using winter sowing

The third time to plant sunflowers is in winter. Yep, winter. Using a technique known as winter sowing to start your sunflowers is fun and simple. If you’ve ever had volunteer sunflower plants pop up from seed dropped around a bird feeder, you’re already familiar with an unplanned version of winter sowing. But intentional winter sowing allows you to control the process more carefully, ensuring you grow the varieties you love, instead of just the black oil sunflowers found in most birdseed blends. The process can take place any time during the winter. Another big plus of planting sunflower seeds in winter this way is that they’ll germinate at exactly the right time, and there will be no need to acclimatize the seedlings to outdoor growing conditions because they’ll already be living there.

Tools you’ll need:

Sunflower seedlings are more cold tolerant than you might think, especially when they’re started outdoors via winter sowing.

Steps for planting sunflower seeds by winter sowing

Step 1: Prepare the jugs for planting
Use the scissors to cut the top of the jug off about one-third of the way up from the bottom. Cut it almost all the way around, leaving a two-inch-wide section uncut to keep the top and bottom of the jug connected. Then, use the scissors to pierce several drainage holes into the bottom of the jug.

Step 2: Fill the bottom of the jug with soil and plant the seeds
Hold the top of the jug off to the side while you fill the bottom of the jug with potting soil. Once filled, sow the seeds 1 inch deep, spacing them 1-2 inches apart. Sowing thickly is fine because you’ll be transplanting them out into the garden when they’re very small. Water the seeds in.

Step 3: Close the jug
Use a piece of duct tape to reattach the top of the jug to the bottom. This makes a mini greenhouse to protect the seedlings.

Step 4: Wait
Put the jugs in a sheltered spot in the garden for the rest of the winter. Snow, rain, or sleet won’t negatively impact the seeds nestled inside. When spring arrives, the seeds will sprout at exactly the right time. Remove the duct tape and open the top of the jug on very warm days (over 70°F), just remember to close it back up at night. Water if necessary.

Step 5: Transplant
Around the time of your last expected spring frost or when the plants reach 2 inches in height (whichever comes first), transplant the seedlings out into the garden. Sunflower seeds grown through winter sowing are more tolerant of cold temperatures than those grown indoors. They’ll tolerate a few light spring frosts without issue.

Sunflowers in the vegetable garden help support pollinators and other beneficial insects, but they are not completely free of troubles.

Why aren’t my sunflowers growing?

Knowing when to plant sunflowers is only part of your success. Knowing how to overcome possible problems is also an important factor. If you’ve done everything right, and your sunflowers either don’t germinate or something nibbles them off, the list below should help.

Plant sunflowers in flower beds, perennial borders, vegetable gardens, containers, and anywhere else you’d like. Just be sure the site receives full sun.

You’re now fully prepared to get started growing your own collection of cheerful sunflowers. Knowing when to plant sunflowers and the best techniques for each different time is key to growing a beautiful sunflower garden, no matter which varieties you decide to grow.

Want to learn more about growing flowering plants? Please visit the following articles:

How to grow a sunflower in your garden

This amazing and beautiful tall annual plant with huge bright yellow flowers from the Compositae family can be found today on the plots of many amateur gardeners.

Its correct biological name is sunflower. And he has a lot of undeniable advantages. Firstly, the sunflower is so beautiful that it can become the main decoration of the garden.

Its bright yellow flowers up to 1 m in diameter with long petals and a huge seed basket, crowning powerful stems with large green leaves, tower even over two-meter fences and are always turned towards the sun. nine0003

Secondly, sunflower seeds contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients needed by the human body.

Previously, sunflower could be found only in the southern regions of our country, but now, with the creation of ultra-early, cold-resistant varieties that are not afraid of sharp weather anomalies, it ripens well in the north of Russia.

And the yields of tasty, large seeds in the northern sunflower are sometimes larger than in the traditional southern varieties.

Growing such a sunflower on your own plot is not at all difficult. This is one of the most unpretentious crops that does not require very careful care. nine0003

However, some of its biological features must be taken into account. Therefore, today we will talk about how to properly grow a sunflower on your site.

SUNFLOWER HISTORY

Several wild sunflower species are found in North America. But these wild plants are absolutely not similar to modern varieties.

Their plants are not so tall, and their seeds are small and tasteless. But it was they who became the progenitors of the cultivated sunflower, which even the ancient Indian tribes cultivated on their plantations and used for food. nine0003

Cultivated sunflower seeds were brought to Europe by the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who discovered America. From the annals we know that the first sunflower crop was obtained in the Madrid botanical garden in 1510.

The culture very quickly "settled" in Europe and until the end of the 17th century was planted exclusively as an ornamental plant.

It was at this time that sunflower seeds were brought to Russia, where at first they were also considered as decorative. In the south of the country, the local population "tasted" sunflower seeds, and they became a favorite treat for both landowners and peasants. nine0003

In 1779, Dmitry Bokarev, a peasant from the Voronezh province, for the first time obtained sunflower oil from sunflower seeds in a manual oil churn. His experience was quickly picked up by Russian producers, who put the production of sunflower oil on an industrial basis.

After that, sunflower, as an oilseed crop, began to be widely sown in all the southern regions of the country.

BIOLOGICAL PORTRAIT

Sunflower is an annual oil crop. Its northern food varieties - Ultraran (ripening period 80 - 90 days, for example, Poseidon 625 , Oreshek ) and early (period of ripening 105 - 115 days, for example, School ).

Such tight deadlines allow already in August - early September to collect a full-fledged crop of ripe seeds. The best sowing dates are the end of May directly to the garden.

The height of plants of northern varieties is up to 2 m. Their stems are straight, powerful, covered with stiff hairs. The leaves are bright green, large, oval-heart-shaped with serrated edges, covered with a delicate fluff. nine0003

Baskets up to 50 cm in diameter. In each, up to 1500 seeds-seeds can ripen.

Marginal flowers orange-yellow, sterile, median - bisexual very small. Ripened seeds up to 30 mm long, black, brown, purple or striped. They contain up to 60% sunflower oil.

Cake obtained after pressing the oil is a valuable feed for livestock and poultry. Silage made from sunflower leaves and stems is also used to feed farm animals.

Sunflower is a cross-pollinated crop. Therefore, we do not recommend planting varieties of different ripening periods nearby. nine0003

Do not grow sunflowers in one place for more than 4 years. After this period, pathogenic microflora accumulates in the earth, and the earth is depleted, first of all, there is a lack of nitrogen, since a culture needs a lot of nutrition for normal growth and development.

There are edible and ornamental varieties of sunflower. And decorative today are very popular with landscape designers around the world.

The most unusual varieties were first bred by breeders in the USA and Japan. But now European and domestic flower growers are not far behind them. nine0003

Among the most interesting decorative varieties, you can see bright multi -color (for example, Velvet and Formula of love ) and low terry (for example, Teddy bear and Orange Sun ).

Agrotechnics for food and ornamental sunflowers is absolutely the same.

HOW TO GROW A SUNFLOWER IN YOUR GARDEN

Choosing a location . The name itself suggests that for a sunflower it is necessary to choose the sunniest place on the site. The plant should be exposed to bright sunlight throughout the day. nine0003

Sunflower does not tolerate close groundwater. Its powerful branched root system goes into the lower layers of the soil to a depth of 2.5 m and from there it gets nutrients and moisture.

When the groundwater is close to the ground, as well as in flooded lowlands, the roots of the plant may begin to rot.

Soils. The best soils for sunflowers are chernozems and fertile loams. But in the northern regions, it is necessary to create an artificial nutrient mixture for them in the garden, otherwise you will not get a strong, healthy plant. nine0003

For digging a plot for sunflowers per 1 sq. m, add: 2 buckets of rotted manure (or compost) and leafy soil, a bucket of sand, half a bucket of wood ash, 2 tbsp. spoons of double superphosphate and potassium sulfate.

Double the application rate on sandy soils.

Sunflower will not grow on heavy acidic clays. Such lands must first be deoxidized with dolomite flour (at the rate of 2 kg per 5 sq. M of the garden area).

Seeding nine0042 Before sowing, soak the seeds for a day in a solution of Zircon and Cytovit preparations (4 drops per glass of water).

Seeds are best sown after 20 May directly into the garden. Make straight grooves in the garden, and in them holes 4-5 cm deep at a distance of 50-60 cm from one another and put 2 seeds in each (in case one does not sprout). Distance between rows - 60 - 80 cm.

The greater the distance between plants, the larger you will get both seeds and baskets themselves. nine0003

Level the furrows and water the entire bed very well (at least three watering cans per square meter). After that, cover the bed with a transparent film so that the seeds are warm, then they will germinate faster.

During the day, lift the film several times for 20 minutes to allow oxygen to reach the crops and water the bed.

Sprouts will appear in 7 to 10 days (depending on variety). After that, remove the film and mulch the bed with straw with a layer of 5 cm. The mulch will prevent the growth of weeds and retain moisture around the plants. nine0003

If you plan to plant no more than 10 sunflowers, you can sow their seeds between rows of potatoes, beets, peas and other vegetables.

Irrig. Sunflowers need a lot of water to grow quickly. Water it abundantly and regularly so that the earth in the garden is always very moist, but without the formation of puddles.

After each watering, loosen the crops and re-mulch with straw. Make sure that no soil crust forms on top.

In extreme heat, water sunflowers twice a day - early in the morning and in the evening after 6 pm. nine0003

Fertilizers . The sunflower is a very powerful plant, so it also needs good regular nutrition. Give your plants the first nitrogen fertilization in the 2-3 true leaf phase. It is best to use a solution of urea for this (2 tablespoons per bucket of water for one plant).

At the beginning of the formation of seed heads, apply potassium sulfate and superphosphate for loosening in the same doses as when sowing.

Bird repellent. Sunflower sprouts are a favorite delicacy for birds. Therefore, stretch white threads between young sprouts, tying them to small pegs. nine0003

After a couple of weeks the plants will be much taller and the birds will no longer be interested in them.

However, when the seeds begin to ripen, the birds will not miss such a delicacy. A whole flock of birds is able to peck out all the young seeds in one day. Therefore, we recommend that you tie the heads of plants with ordinary gauze.

Under it, the seeds will ripen faster and remain intact and inaccessible to birds.

Garter . Tall sunflower varieties with large seed heads are recommended to be tied to stakes, 1.5 - 1.8 m high. This will protect the stems from breakage. nine0003

Harvest . Start it when the seeds turn black, the heads lean towards the ground, and the extreme petals begin to dry out and crumble.

Carefully cut the ripened heads and place them in the sun in a dry, well-ventilated area for a couple of days. To extract the seeds, spread an old sheet or some other light-colored cloth over it, rub the heads against each other until all the seeds fall out.

THE BEST SUNFLOWER VARIETIES FROM OUR COLLECTION

We have told you how to grow sunflowers in your garden. In conclusion, we present the best varieties of this wonderful crop from our unique collection of seeds.

Our collection:

Food varieties:

Squirrel, Poseidon 625, Oreshek.

Ornamental varieties:

Velvet, Formula of Love, Orange Sun, Teddy Bear.

Read more about these varieties on our website or in the SEEDS 2021 catalog.

And you can buy them for May sowing from us today!

When to plant and how to grow a sunflower from a seed

11/18/2020

Learn how to grow a sunflower in the country. There are few people who would not like to click sunflower seeds. It's easy and tasty, and very useful too. I’ll tell you when to plant and how easy it is to care for this “sunny flower”. nine0003

Sunflower is a flower of the Astrov family. The correct name for the plant is sunflower. We will learn to plant a common type of oilseed; Few people know that its counterpart is the tuberous sunflower, better known as Jerusalem artichoke or ground pear.

When to plant and how to grow a sunflower from seeds

Variety

It is best to sow in our conditions early-ripening varieties (with a growing season of 84-86 days). For example: Umnik, Buzuluk, Nut. The next option is mid-season (90-95 days): Master, Flagship. The days indicated on the seed bags usually indicate the biological ripeness of the crop. Do not forget to add another 10 days - before the harvest days.

When choosing a variety, pay attention to hybrids that are resistant to downy mildew, rot and Phomopsis (gray stem spot) - the most dangerous fungal diseases of sunflower. Preventive measures will help protect against them: proper crop rotation, the use of high-quality fungicides, sanitizing the site and removing all plant residues after harvesting. nine0003

Site selection

Sunflower loves the sun! Its peculiarity is known - to turn its flower "head" behind the sun. Therefore, this tall plant (sometimes it can reach up to 3 m) must certainly be planted in a sunny place, followed by a garter to a support. Optimal landing next to the fence, lattice, pergola. Very often sunflowers grow along the fence. It is customary to plant them, decorating the wall of an old barn, a summer toilet, a compost heap.

Soil

The recommendations for growing sunflowers say that they need fertile soil with a neutral reaction.

  • An interesting observation. I have seen sunflowers growing along the side of the St. Petersburg-Moscow highway more than once. It would seem, where? Well, it's clear that a seed flew out of the window or something. But why did she manage to germinate? Not only is the gas pollution along the route exceeds all permissible limits, but there is definitely no fertile black soil there. Mystic

    • nine0231

    Plant a crop after cereals (winter wheat, corn). And even better - after legumes, nightshade or beets, which "leave" a lot of nitrogen in the soil.

    Preparing Seeds

    Dress (soak overnight) the planting material using one of the methods described in the article Preparing Seeds for Planting.

    Planting

    For example, you can plant seeds immediately in a permanent place in May (in our climate from May 5 to May 20). Make a hole or groove. And put the seed to a depth of 5 cm, sprinkled and leveled with loose earth. Planting pattern, approximately like this - 30 cm x 70 cm, square-nested. For evenness, pull the cord lengthwise, then across - at the intersection point and there will be a landing site. At a temperature of 20-25 ° C, seedlings will appear in a couple of weeks. nine0003

    Another option is to grow sunflower seedlings at home 20-25 days before planting in the garden. Be sure to find out if your variety can be transplanted in the future.

    Learn more