Growing Tips

The most important lesson I learned over the past several years is that sunflower seedlings are very desirable to garden critters. It is therefore extremely important that you protect them from these enemies. I discovered a wonderful product called Critter Ridder. Shortly after transplanting my seedlings in the terra cotta pots, I sprayed the edges of the pots with this liquid (it cannot be sprayed directly on new transplants). I recommend wearing a mask and protective eyewear when applying it. Thereafter, I followed the directions on the bottle regarding spraying intervals, eventually applying it directly to the leaves and trunks of the plants. It is a wonderful deterrent. Still, the squirrels here are a nightmare and managed to steal a head or two when I wasn't looking. The point is this: SPRAY THE PLANTS OR FIND ANOTHER WAY TO KEEP SQUIRRELS, GROUNDHOGS AND OTHER CRITTERS AWAY FROM THEM.

Of course, plant the sunnies (or place the pots) in a location with full sun.

I recommend watering them daily, preferably in the early morning or evening (before or after the sun is up) so that the water will seep into the soil (vs. evaporating in the heat of the day).

My aim was to plant one sunny per 16" terra cotta pot. However, I planted many more seeds than nine - so that if one or more were damaged or eaten, I would have backups. Although I was planning to pick the nine plants that demonstrated the most promise and plant one in each of the 16" pots, I couldn't bear to destroy the remaining seedlings and wound up planting them in whatever other pots I had on hand. The height of the plants varied, which I believe was due to the amount of growing space they had. The tallest plants were the ones that had been planted by themselves in one of the 16" pots. In two 3' X 8" pots in which three sunnies had been planted one each didn't make it, leaving additional room for the adjacent plant. These plants clearly benefitted from the extra room, growing to be as tall as the plants that occupied the 16" pots. I'm not sure whether the sunny benefits more from a lower pot that provides more horizontal growing room or a narrower, deeper pot. I have to experiment with different pots to see. As you can see below, their roots grow in layers, stretching out from the stalk.  If you want tall sunnies, give them lots of room to grow.

Interestingly, regardless of the height of the plant or the size of the flower, the seeds are all the same size.

Some of the plants developed a split in their stems (see photo below). In one instance, this killed the plant. In another, the plant healed itself and continued to grow. I'm not sure what causes this (and how to prevent it) but I'm guessing that it is some kind of worm or insect. More on this after I do some research.

I wasn't sure whether a sunny, once decapitated, would grow another head. The answer is yes, but not in the same spot where the original one was. Fascinatingly, the plant will grow one or more smaller heads on the sides of its stalk. I think this is nature's way of ensuring the propagation of sunnies. Here you can see one of the small buds forming on the stalk of a sunny after a squirrel removed its head.