Tips for growing sunflowers

Here are some basics on growing sunflowers:
Plant them in full sun.
Russian Giants, Kong and Mammoth varieties grow as tall as 15 feet and have flower heads as large as 20" in diameter. If using a container you'll need a pot at least 15" inches deep and 15" in diameter (or larger) to grow these giants.
Sunflower roots grow deep and spread wide if you are using a container make sure it is big enough
Tall plants may need staking.
Keep the soil moist and fertilize them with a 1/2 strength organic liquid fertilizer every two weeks.
Sunflowers need lots of water (plants 6 feet tall can consume 8 gallons per week), but over-watering them can cause deformed seed heads. Use well-drained soil and keep the soil evenly moist. Water seedling deeply once per week for the first month so they develop deep roots. After that, water your sunflowers lightly every day.
Sunflowers are called sunflowers for a reason. They need sun. Make sure that the location you choose for your sunflowers gets full sun.
You do not need to worry about soil too much. Sunflowers are not picky about the conditions of the soil, but they are plants. They will do better in better soil.
Sunflower seed shells do contain a substance that is toxic to grass. So, you will need to either harvest the sunflower heads before the seeds begin to fall out or you will need to plant your sunflowers in a location where you do not mind any nearby grass being killed.
Keep in mind the height of the sunflower variety you have chosen. A giant, twelve foot variety will end up acting very much like a small tree and may shade the surrounding flowers – we are growing Russian Giants.
Protect from slugs, ants and pigeons. Use crop rotation in your garden to avoid diseases like Sclerotina (white mould) which makes their stalk and head rot. Other diseases to watch out for are downy mildew and rust. Pesky insects like moths are attracted to the sunflower head at flowering time; their larvae feed by tunnelling through the seed. You can protect your sunflowers by covering the heads with plastic netting which should also deter birds. Sunflowers are ready to harvest when the back portion of the head turns brown.
As mentioned above, sunflowers can also help you to attract local birds to your garden. When the growing season is coming to a close, you can harvest your sunflower heads and use some of the seeds to feed the birds over the winter. You have two options when using sunflower seeds to feed the birds. The first is that you can simply leave the sunflower heads outside for the birds. This option is the easiest but be warned that the birds will make a mess when pulling the seeds out of the sunflower head. Your other option is to remove the seeds from the head and to put them in your bird feeder. This method is a little more work but will be neater in the long run. Also, putting the seeds in a birdfeed will also help to keep your feathered friends safe as the birdfeeder will be up off the ground and out of reach of many of the animals that eat birds.

Some facts about sunflowers

• The scientific name is Helianthus? It comes from two Greek words, Helios meaning sun, and Anthos, meaning flower. The sunflower follows the sun's apparent path over the earth (phototropic), and this characteristic is how got its name.
• They belong to the Aster family. Interestingly, some sunflowers have 89 petals, which is a Fibonacci sequence number (a figure formed by adding consecutive numbers from zero).
• Sunflowers are one of the plants associated with the zodiac sign Leo the lion (23 July to 22 August) because of their mutual relationship with the Sun.
• The Sunflower is a good bee plant.
• In many parts of Europe sunflowers have provided/and still provide leaves for smoking, flower buds for salads, flowers for dyes, and oil for cooking.
• There are 67 species of sunflowers, growing in the various countries of the world.
• The sunflower is not one flower, but a cluster of more then 2000 tiny flowers growing together...go and have a closer look next time you come face to face with one.
• A sunflower's head can grow to be as big as 2 feet across and the plant itself can be as tall as 18 feet.
• The tallest sunflower grown on record was 25 feet tall and was grown in the Netherlands.
• The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point and was grown in Canada.
• Miniature sunflowers can be grown using the Bonsai technique The shortest mature sunflower on record was just over 2 inches tall and was grown in Oregon using this method.
• The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas.
• The sunflower is the national flower of Russia.
• The French word for Sunflower is tournesol, or literally "turn with the sun".
  and in Spain and Italy: Girasoland
  in Germany: Sonnenblume
• Flower Meaning -Dwarf Sunflower: Adoration
  Tall Sunflower: False Riches

The Rules

The competition is to grown the “biggest” sunflower. “Biggest” will be determined by measuring in centimetres:

1. the height of the plant from the stem base to the base of the flower head
2. the diameter of the flower head excluding petals
3. adding the two results together

The “winning” plant will be checked and if it agrees with its owners submission the trophy will be awarded to that person for one year.

For your information all plants were started from Russian Giant seeds on 6th April 2007 in 3in pots using J. Arthur Bowes Peat-Free Multi-Purpose Compost.

There will be a charge of £1.00 per plant which will be donated to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation (Registered Charity No 1046854) in memory of all lung cancer sufferers.

Please let me know how many plants you would like as soon as possible.

There will be an additional booby prize for the ugliest sunflower submitted (twisted, crooked etc!).

There will be no arguments – the judge’s decision will be final!

The prize giving venue will be decided on location of the winners

Diary of events - 2007

Collect plants from Jane any time from Sunday 6th May onwards. Please phone before you call in case we are out.

Take plants home – there are no rules – you can talk to them, feed them Guinness, fertilise or just hope for the best, but beware of slugs, pigeons and ants!

Latest measuring day is Monday 27th August (August Bank holiday weekend)

Send your measurements to as soon as possible. Also send a photo of your specimen for the archives and potential entry to the “ugliest” competition.

Good luck

Jane