Sunflower growing is a rite of passage for any young gardener.
With their cheery faces and Jack-and-the-Beanstalk growth rate it’s easy to see why they are a hit.
Mid April to June is the best time to sow sunflowers in the UK. Here are a few tips to help yours reach for the skies.
Indoor sowing
Sunflowers are great for introducing children to the wonders of germination. Sowing them indoors means you can start earlier, and it lets you get closer to the magic.
- Sow the seeds in pots of compost, two per pot, about 1cm deep. A three inch plant pot is fine, as is an old yoghurt pot with a couple of holes poked in the bottom.
- Put the pots on a sunny windowsill and keep the compost moist but not too wet. Check them daily – they will almost grow before your eyes. Some will pop up with the seed husk perched precariously on their head.
- Sacrifice the weaker seedling if you end up with more than one per pot. If you’re a softie like me, you could try repotting it.
- Get your seedlings outside! If you keep them indoors too long the warmth and lack of light will make them tall and lanky. For now, you want a robust stocky plant; height can come later. I put mine in a sheltered sunny spot for a few weeks, and bring them in at night if it’s very cold.
- Once the plants are well established and the frosts have passed you can plant them out in their final location…refer to steps 2 & 3 for outdoor sowing.
Outdoor sowing
If you want minimum fuss, or summer is around the corner, sunflowers can be sown direct into the ground.
- Wait until the weather is fairly warm and the days are long, late May or June is ideal.
- Choose your spot. As you might suspect, they want somewhere sunny to thrive. At least six to seven hours of sun per day is essential.
- Prepare the ground by loosening it with a garden fork. This makes it easier for the roots to get a firm hold. Dig a nice hole and mix in some manure if you want to.
- Sow two seeds (or three if you want to play it really safe) per hole, 2cm deep, and water them.
- If more than one seedling appears, wait until they are about 12cm tall and carefully pull up the weaker of the two. I know it’s difficult, but if you don’t none of your plants will have room to thrive.
A few more tips
Check your seed packet for spacing, but a good rule of thumb is to leave around 35-40cm between each plant.
Some varieties can grow to 3 metres and beyond, so it’s a good idea to support them. A stick will do the trick, or try planting them against an east-facing wall (sunflowers always turn to the east).
Regular watering is essential for strong, healthy plants. People who grow really, really tall sunflowers usually feed their plants weekly too.
Most supermarkets and home stores stock sunflower seeds in the spring. But you’ll find a better selection if you go to a garden centre or an online seed specialist. There are lots of lovely varieties:
- For height – try Russian Giant, Mongolian Giant or American Giant
- Pot-friendly – go for Big Smile or Teddy Bear
- For picking – Vanilla Ice and Pastiche are gorgeous.
For all your seeds needs head over to Suttons Seeds.
Happy growing!
You can find out more about Mary and her garden at www.brookendcottagegarden.com. Subscribe to our blog to keep up to date with Mary’s advice/tips and know how.
I tend to grow mini sunflowers, ok I know its not so much fun, but I find growing big ones they take a lot of looking after, and I am a very neglectful gardener!
mini sunflowers are lovely too – we’re growing Vanilla Ice and Earthwalker this year – not so tall, but v pretty
Mary – quick question, can you grow them in pots? And if so, what size do you think would be best, do they have big roots?
Dwarf varieties like Big Smile or Teddy Bear will be happiest in a pot. But I reckon you could get pretty good results growing any variety in a 4-5 litre pot. Just keep them well fed and watered, tomato food will do. If they grow really tall, they will get a bit top heavy and might topple over unless you attach them to a wall or a fence.
Actually, make that a 10 litre pot. I never was very good at weights and measures 😉
What a great entry. My son will love this. Thanks so much for the idea!
Thanks Rachel – if you grow some of your own, send pics into Big Jigs 🙂
Very useful, we planted some up to get them started on our windowsill yesterday, so this has been a good check to make sure we get off to the right start!
That’s great, have fun watching them germinate!
The Big Snflower project is in its fourth year of growing sunflowers to raise awareness of centronuclear and myotubular myopathy. Learn how you can join in too at http://centronuclear.org.uk/theinformationpoint/pages/the_big_sunflower_project.html.