Flower ResourcesDiscover the right flowers for your garden.
picture by : Pablesku / Shutterstock .
Sunflowers are iconic , easy - to - grow plants enjoyed by gardeners in every state . One of the sluttish flowers to produce , Helianthusthrive in full Lord’s Day and are n’t finicky about soil . You ’re probably most familiar with the elephantine types that grow very tall and have oversized yellow-bellied heyday . But there are many other character of sunflowers to search .
On this page : Basics|Growing Tips|Care and Maintenance|Varieties|Design Ideas|Frequently require Questions|Harvest Sunflower Seeds
On this Sir Frederick Handley Page :
BASICS
Botanical name:
Helianthusspp .
Hardiness Zones:
Usually grown as annual ; repeated varieties 4 - 8 count on cultivar
Height:
Varies ; giant varieties up to 16 feet tall , dwarf miscellanea 1 to 4 foot improbable
Exposure:
Full sun , 6 + hour per day
When do sunflowers bloom?
Annual sunflowers bloom during summertime and into fall . Sow novel flora every few week and you ’ll enjoy non - contain flowers until the first icing . Perennial helianthus bloom for a period of 8 - 12 weeks with some beginning as betimes as July and others finishing as belatedly as October .
GROWING SUNFLOWERS
When to plant:
For annual helianthus ( Helianthus annuus ) , sow seeds outdoors after the threat of frost has passed . If you have a short mature time of year they can be started indoors . recurrent sunflowers should be planted in spring or fall
Soil:
Any ; clay , sandy , silt or loam .
Spacing:
For giant sunflower , or those grown for seed production , sow seed 2 to 3 feet aside . For little annual types pop forcut flower gardens , you could sow in cum about 6 inches asunder .
SUNFLOWER CARE
Watering:
Once established , they will tolerate some drouth . However , in the periods before , during and after flowering , they perform best with deep , regular watering .
Fertilizing:
In most cases , they will not require fertilizer . However , if your soil is very poor you may use a tiresome - release farinaceous plant food to advance bombastic flowers . Be careful - too much nitrogen can inhibit unfolding .
Staking:
Sunflowers that produce over 3 foot tall or have heavy , profound flower heads are vulnerable to flopping or even break away under the stress of summer winds and rain . Loosely attach your plant ’s branches to stakes with cloth or string to foreclose this problem . Sunflowers grown from seed sown directly in the garden will have well - set up roots and stronger stems and be less likely to fall .
To further encourage proper solution growth , offer well - drain , organically - rich soil , and passel of infinite between plants . And do n’t forget to water deeply so that the origin will grow down rather than out .
SUNFLOWER VARIETIES
Photo by : Daniele Price / Dreamstime .
GIANT
Height:9 to 16 feet tallBloom size:10 to 14 + column inch across
These one-year plants sport gargantuan flowers , sometimes evaluate more than a foot across . They make a good screen or backdrop and attract all sorts of pollinator . Some variety have edible seed . Most need staking to prevent them from falling over in the breaking wind or rainfall .
Grow these :
Suncredible ® lily-livered helianthus ( Helianthushybrid ) . Photo by : Proven Winners .
DWARF
Height:1 to 4 feet tallBloom size:2 to 10 inches across
nanus sunflower are good for containers or small garden . Many dwarf type are branching and propose multiple bloom per plant . Some are double - flowered , some are bicolored , and some are pollenless . Dwarf sunflowers are the perfect sizing for snub and using in arrangements .
Helianthus annuus’Teddy Bear ' . Photo by : Diana Cochran Johnson / Shutterstock .
DOUBLE
Height:2 to 6 ft tallBloom size:4 to 8 column inch across
Known for their fuzzy , downy , or voiced texture , double sunflowers are attention grabber . Available in semi - double or fully - double phase , their blossom last longer than single - bloom variety and make excellent shortened flowers . Many are pollenless or have minimum pollen .
Helianthus salicifolius . Photo by : Susan A. Roth .
PERENNIAL
Zones:4 - 9Height:1 to 10 feet tallBloom size:2 to 5 inches across
recurrent sunflowers will come back year - after - year . They are tough plants that offer 8 - 12 weeks of flush . Rather than sending up a jumbo flower head , like many of the annual types , these sunflowers form clumps with many little flowers .
Helianthus annuus‘Ring of Fire ’ . photograph good manners : All - America Selections .
SPECIALTY
Many gardeners are surprised to discover that helianthus are usable in more color than the classic bright scandalmongering . There are types with deep red flowers , others that show of beautiful combination of people of color and still others that are snowy .
FALSE SUNFLOWERS
' Tuscan Sun’Heliopsis helianthoidesPhoto by : Proven Winners .
False sunflowers resemble pocket-size versions of true sunflowers , but have raise , cone cell - forge centers . The petals stay with the flower or else of withering and falling off , as sunflowers do . off-key sunflowers are perennials and can be easily grown in zones 3 - 9 .
' TUSCAN GOLD'—Buy now from Proven Winners . Size:24 to 32 inches improbable , up to 2 foot panoptic
DESIGN IDEAS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Are sunflower poisonous to cats or dogs ?
If your pets eat your sunflower or their seed , do n’t interest because they are non - toxic . you could safely grow them in your garden and use them in arrangement indoors . See more safe plant life options:20 Common Plants Safe for Cats & Dogs .
Do helianthus follow the Lord’s Day ?
Young sunflower face east to soak up sunlight in the morning and track the Sunday as it moves westward throughout the twenty-four hour period . This process is squall heliotropism . Once sunflowers have attain matureness , they stop follow the sunshine and confront east from then on .
Are sunflower grass ?
Sunflowers are cognise for popping up on their own ( well , actually with the help of birds ) . For some gardener they are a cherished surprise , but to others they are a frustrating grass . If you do n’t need sunflower in your garden , simply pull them up , making indisputable to get the radical .
HARVEST YOUR OWN SUNFLOWER SEEDS
If you want to harvest helianthus seeds to snack on ( or to feed the birds with later ) , plant large varieties ofHelianthus annuus(annual sunflower ) since they have the biggest seeds . unspoiled choice are ‘ Russian Mammoth ’ , ‘ Sunzilla ’ , and ‘ Heirloom Titan ’ , sometimes towering more than 10 foot magniloquent with come heads a foot or more across . ( Note : In club for pollen - freeHelianthus annuusvarieties to form seeds for wildlife , you also need to plant type of sunflower that produce pollen . )
Harvesting your own seeds is dim-witted :
If you ’re just planning on lease hiss feast on the seeds , you could leave the seed heads on the plant for the birds to feed . Another option is to cut the drying ripe seed head and hang them upside down on a fencing to give birds easier entree .
