Sunflowers

tracey357

Hi,
My daughter would like to grow some sunflowers on the allotment & also give her friends a little plant as an Easter gift.
My question is, can I start the seeds off indoors or do these need to be started outside also when can I start these.
Many thanks
Tracey

billycasper_2

yep to the first question,
and april to the second (they are not hardy) so any sign of frost and they need to be protected
here have a look at this site ..

http://www.seedngrow.com/growing-sunflowers-tips-advice/info_5.html

i recommend you feed them as well when they are growing. a little bit a liquid fertilizer. and dont forget to stake them or tie them to a fence. they will bend and snap if a gale blows.

tracey357

billycasper wrote: »

yep to the first question,
and april to the second (they are not hardy) so any sign of frost and they need to be protected
here have a look at this site ..

http://www.seedngrow.com/growing-sunflowers-tips-advice/info_5.html

i recommend you feed them as well when they are growing. a little bit a liquid fertilizer. and dont forget to stake them or tie them to a fence. they will bend and snap if a gale blows.

Thanks for that,

Hopefuly my daughter will have a little plant to give her friends at Easter,
looks a bit better than a small pot of dirt, not very interesting to a 5yr old!

billycasper_2

The problem is, sunflowers are fast growers (in the right conditions) and have large root systems, start them off too early and it will quickly outgrow its pot before its time to plant outside.
(lots of repotting)
with this long cold winter who knows if we will get frosts in may ??
will it ever be warm again ???

Furny

It's great isn't it, seeing Sunflowers all round where we live last year has got my 4yr old interested in gardening as he asked "could we grow one too",so we have our seeds at the ready also, & he's saying he wants to help with the herbs/veg I'm going to have a go at. Anything that encourages him away from the lure of the telly/computer i say!.

valk_scot

I grew some direct sown sunflowers last year, plus my daughter started some of the same (guaranteed giant) seeds off in pots. The plants that grew from the seeds dropped from the bird feeder grew better than either of the other batches! They were all massive, btw, it's just that the "wild" ones hit about 15 feet tall in totally the wrong place.

Bunny82

Another point to remember is they don't like being fiddled with so start them off in a paper pot then plant the pots straight into the ground when the time is right. Put a good layer of manure in the hole first.

tracey357

Thanks for all your advise,

diluvsdiscounts

valk_scot wrote: »

I grew some direct sown sunflowers last year, plus my daughter started some of the same (guaranteed giant) seeds off in pots. The plants that grew from the seeds dropped from the bird feeder grew better than either of the other batches! They were all massive, btw, it's just that the "wild" ones hit about 15 feet tall in totally the wrong place.

This happened around our bird feeder last year and I perservered once the flower had died and let it go to seed and then all the little blue tits and finches ate the seeds directly from the plant .I have to say they were a bit of an eyesore but well worth it once the I saw the birds feeding from them!