Helianthus annuus
One of my pet summertime memories comes from the summer of 2012 , when I spent six weeks studying Spanish in Spain with my sister . The school on a regular basis took us on trips to popular and historically significant towns and realm in the country .
On one trip-up to Barcelona from Valencia , we repulse retiring fields of sunflowers .
They were so alluring that the gadget driver stopped the jalopy and let all the students hop out to take photos of the tall beauties . They filled our hearts with joy , as sunflower do .
Photo by Laura Melchor.
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In Spanish , the word of honor for sunflower isgirasol , which translates to “ a head trip around the Lord’s Day , ” ormirasol , which translates to “ looks at the Dominicus . ”
How lovely is that ?
Photo by Laura Melchor.
Even if you do n’t have the option to travel to Spain mighty now – oh , how I ’d be intimate to go back ! – you’re able to grow beautiful sunflower correctly in your own chiliad or garden .
In this scout , we ’ll tell you everything you need to get it on to grow your own joyousness - induct Helianthus annuus flowers .
Here ’s what ’s ahead :
What You’ll Learn
Cultivation and History
helianthus are as delicious to eat on as they are jubilant to look at .
Lots of people get laid snacking on the seminal fluid . in person , I love sun butter as a substitute for earthnut butter . And theoil from these gargantuan beautiesis used in cooking all over the world .
Plus , you ’ll often find the seminal fluid in bird feed mix and suet cakes . The hiss get it on them , too !
The versatileH. annuusis amember of the Asteraceae or daisy menage , along with marigold , aster , andthe humble blowball , to name a few .
Like many other member of the daisy family , sunflowers are heliotropic , mean the flower turn to follow the sun when they ’re growing and developing .
But once a flower reaches maturity , it settle into a comfortable east - facing position and detain there until it dies .
Because of its many culinary uses , H. annuusis grown around the world as a food craw . Ukraine and Russia aloneproduce half the humanity ’s supply , with Argentina , Turkey , France , Hungary , Spain , and China grow most of the remainder of what ’s sold commercially .
Despite its global renown , the sunflower originated in North America and was a major intellectual nourishment crop for many indigenous peoples . Today , it ’s principally grownon farms in North and South Dakota , Minnesota , California , Colorado , Kansas , Nebraska , and Texas .
The efflorescence made its way to the residuum of Europe via explorers who contribute seminal fluid to Spain . From there , gardeners overspread the flower throughout the rest of the continent and on to Russia .
Along with their pollyannaish mantrap and long - standing culinary note value , sunflowers are also known for their height .
While wildH. annuusis a branching bloom that tolerate more than one salad days , individual - prow , single - bloom cultivars are popular for their unbelievable height .
Some varieties are among the magniloquent flowers develop anywhere . At drop festival competitions , it ’s not unusual to see these behemoths topping twenty feet .
Midsize varieties produce six to ten metrical unit high , and some people opt these for their disproportionately large blossoms . The really big plants have small flowers , because their long stems can not support anything heavy .
Smaller cultivars that grow to only two to three feet or less are popular as well , especially among gardeners who like togrow theirs in containers .
Ready to grow your own ? have ’s get started !
Sunflower Plant Propagation
If you ’re a begin nurseryman or you need afun gardening project for your kidsto do , growingH. annuusis the way to go .
These bloom are extremely easy to rise , and they are n’t particular about their growing conditions . you’re able to circularize them from seed or transplant seedling from the store .
Growing from Seed
Like other plants with taproot , sunflowers grow best when sow directly into the yard or garden . This gives them plenty of quad and clip to acquire the taproot and send them down deep .
We ’ll focus on that method first .
H. annuusflowers are annuals , so you’re able to grow them just about anywhere , but they do n’t like to get too dusty .
They preferUSDA Hardiness Zones2 - 11 , and they definitely want you to wait to plant them out of doors until all danger of hoarfrost has passed .
Though these problematic blooms will grow almost anywhere they ’re establish , it ’s best to select an area with at least six to eight hours of sun per twenty-four hour period and rich , well - run out filth .
They should still do alright in less than idealistic conditions , they just might not grow as bighearted and strong !
labor a shallow deep of about one inch bass and put the come at heart . If you want small flower heads , plant the seeds two to four inch aside .
For expectant heads , plant six to eight inches aside . This is true even for larger cultivars , although the smaller size of it will be relative : a smaller ‘ Russian Mammoth ’ flower , for example , wo n’t be as little as a smaller ‘ nanus ’ variety .
When I plant my seeds last year , I did n’t yield airless enough attention to space . The answer ? Some heads were fully developed and had a nice size , while others – dwarfed by their Sister – quell tiny .
Here ’s what my big helianthus look like :
And my tiny ones , which still bet lovely in a vase indoors , looked like this :
So keep this in mind while planting ! Some works will eclipse others , but the smaller ones will be ideal for bouquets .
Once you ’ve set the seeds in the deep , cover them with an column inch of soil and water thoroughly . Keep moist until sprouting , which should occur in 7 - 10 days .
As soon as the first solidification of true leaf emerges , thin any stray seedling that are too close together – those that are grow more closely than two inches from their neighbors .
Also , did you know that sunflower sprouts are eatable ? So rather of tossing the extra seedlings in the trash , toss them into a salad .
That ’s all there is to it ! You ’ll see peak in anywhere from two to three month , depending on the variety .
Now , if you really require tosow seeds indoorsbefore the danger of frost passes , youcando it .
You ’ll desire to start just a few weeks before the last frost particular date so that the plants do n’t get too big in the germ tray .
If they grow too tumid while the roots are still trap in a little cell , they may not thrive once they ’re incite outdoors .
Sow two seeds each , one inch deep , in starter tray or peat pots . Keep them moist .
Thin seedlings once they have a set of true leaves , keep the strongest one in each pot or cellphone , and transfer them out after all risk of freeze has passed , or when seedling are about three to four inch tall .
indurate them off for about a week before planting out in the garden .
Transplanting Seedlings
If you find seedling at the store or have grown your own in starter tray , here ’s how to transfer them outdoors .
chance a locating that nonplus at least six to eight hour of full sun every day and has ample , well - draining soil . Dig a hole the size of the etymon globe , carefully remove the plant from the starter tray , and place it into the hole . pack the grease back over it , and water in well .
Space each hole two to twelve inches asunder , calculate on your flower head size of it preference and the cultivar you have take .
Check the seminal fluid packetto make certain , and keep in thinker that branching varieties need more blank than undivided - stemmed types .
If you started your seeds in biodegradable peat pots , place the entire pot flat into the soil .
Water thoroughly , and then voila ! You ’re done , transplant accomplished .
How to Grow Sunflowers
helianthus can handle gamey temperature , as they bed warmheartedness , but they hate freezing temperatures and do n’t like hoarfrost .
Here ’s a secret : they can treat ateeny tinybit of Robert Frost , so if a surprise light frost hits by and by in the season than common , they ’ll probably be ok .
In fact , think that photo of a large bloom from my bed of flowers ? It thrived even after the first fall frost hit Alaska . But do n’t number on that !
To keep your bloom happy and strong for their summer development , water them once or twice a week , depending on how much rainfall you get .
To curb the soil for moisture , stand by your digit one inch down . If you do n’t feel anything wet , give your plant a good inch of weewee each .
If wind is a problem as the flowers grow taller , you could stake them . A safe magic trick is to imbed sunflowers close to a fence , which can be used for support .
For branching varieties , pinch the tops when they have four to five set of truthful leaves to further shaggy growth and multiple peak heads .
But keep in mind that furcate varieties will by nature branch out , so this is n’t strictly necessary to obtain more than one endearing flower .
sunflower do n’t need a lot of fertilizer , but a petty can help . Phosphorus and K can encourage grown blooms , while nitrogen supports leafage growth .
Aim to regain abalanced 5 - 5 - 5 ( NPK ) fertiliser , which you ’ll only need to use once . Add it to the planting country according to package education when seedling have several set of truthful leaf . Do n’t over do it , or your plants may produce tons of foliageand no blooms .
Growing Tips
Sunflower Cultivars to Select
Here ’s a nice , varied selection of sunflowers , both marvellous and small(ish ) , to grow in your place garden :
Mammoth Russian
need an enormous bloom to put down into a province fair challenger ? Look no further than ‘ Mammoth Russian , ’ which grows up to 144 column inch tall and boasts a huge , twelve - inch , sunny heads .
‘ gigantic Russian ’
‘ gigantic Russian ’ also produces fantabulous semen for snacking , with thin , easy - to - tornado shells and meaty kernel .
peak will bloom about two months after plant , with harvestable seeds available in another two to four calendar week .
Find packets of 200 seeds at Burpee .
Wild Sunflower
For an excellent supplying of summer - long bouquet , succession - flora these beauty in your garden for four or five weeks in the spring .
‘ Wild Sunflower ’
Blooming in just over two months from sowing , you ’ll have a good - ceaseless supply of three - foot - tall plants with delicately pollyannaish blooms to stare at in the garden , or cut and enjoy in vessel and arrangement .
You ’ll find out seeds in a smorgasbord of computer software sizes , from a modest mailboat to a five - pound sackat Eden Brothers .
Velvet Queen
You did n’t think sunflower only fall in tincture of yellow and orange , did you ?
Okay , well , I did . Until I break this alluring cultivar , which boast petals in a rich mahogany that reminds me of red velvet cake against a black - seed nerve centre .
‘ Velvet Queen ’
Try mixing these three - animal foot - marvelous plants with one of the chickenhearted mixture for a beguile show in your garden .
Seeds are available from True Leaf Marketin packets ranging from two grams to one pound .
Want More choice ?
Be sure to check out out supplemental guide , “ Here total the Sun : 15 Popular Sunflower Varieties , ” to serve you choose the best cultivar for your lawn and garden .
Managing Pests and Disease
There are a variety of unwellness and creepy - crawlies to watch out for when you ’re growing sunflowers .
Let ’s take a feel .
Omnivores
There are two main omnivore pests ( or client ) that will happily eat your helianthus , most notably once the seed uprise ..
scan on to find out who they are !
These critters adore the seeds , with expert reason . So do we , after all !
If you ’re test to save them for your own use , hatch the headspring with a piece of cheesecloth or screen after the seed start to develop .
Read more here for tips and trickson protect your seeds from birds and squirrels .
Or do what many gardeners do : allow the bright bloom to act as as a natural razzing and squirrel feeder , and countenance the fauna have their portion .
Insects
Which bugs bother our upbeat bloom of youth the most ? Here are the top five helianthus enemy .
regrettably for sunflowers , there are several cutworm mintage that predate on these sunshine - have it away plants :
The dingy cutworm ( Feltia jaculifera ) , key out for its dingy brown color ; the darksided cutworm ( Euxoa messoria ) , which gambol darkish stripes on its side ; the tan , sandy - colored sandhill cutworm ( Euxoa detersa ) ; and the glum gray disgraceful cutworm ( Agrotis ipsilon ) .
cutworm are moth larvae , and they eat the foliation , creating holes in young leaf , and making young plant droop and sometimes die .
While they prey mostly at night , cutworm care to hang out during the day in the soil , or under weeds grow within a few foot of their chosen victim .
If you notice cutworm damage and retrieve larvae nearby , it ’s prison term to handpick as many as you’re able to rule and get rid of them .
you could also spreaddiatomaceous eartharound the plant to belt down the soft - embodied insect , or release good nematodes , like these from Arbico Organics .
Read our complete guide to cutworm control to find more tips .
These unwashed bugs do n’t do tons of damage to sunflower plants , but they do care to jaw on the foliage and sometimes the seeds .
According to expert at theDepartment of Entomology at Kansas State University , they do n’t incline to destroy entire plants . commercial-grade grower should plan to do something to discourage grasshoppers if they notice more than eight per straight yard .
Using a grasshopper deterrent that does n’t harm other insects or the plant itself is ideal .
Nolo Bait from Arbico Organics
seek Nolo Bait , a coated bran flake that infects grasshoppers withNocema locustae , a pathogen thatonlyaffects hopper and crickets .
Nolo Bait isavailable from Arbico Organics .
To prevent an infestation , tryplanting squash vine , peas , or Lycopersicon esculentum in the same area as your sunflowers – grasshoppers tend to forefend these .
This 1/4- to 3/8 - inch - farseeing mallet ( Zygogramma exclamationis ) sports a ruddy - brownish head and a creamy , stripy body .
The fat , greenish larva and the adults both care to eat through the leaf , often skeletonizing intact works .
If you fascinate these insects early and repel them with insecticidal soap or neem oil , there ’s a practiced chance your sunflower crop will survive and thrive .
This moth ’s cream - colored 3/8- to 5/8 - inch larva ( Suleima helianthana ) do the damage here .
They care to gestate into stems , and occasionally budding flowers . They tend to make themselves so at home within a flora that they leave destiny of visible black frass , or excrement , behind .
If any of your helianthus halt or buds have curl inward and they sport a unusual black substance around the damaged area , you probably have bud moth larvae on your hand .
Thankfully , if the larvae stick around inside the stems , your bud will plausibly open just fine . But if they decide to assault the unopened bud as well , those peak will be ruin .
Bud moth infestations are usually small andinsecticides are n’t helpful .
To shorten the luck of an infestation , keep the surround country costless of weeds , which can be host plants for the moths and their larvae .
retrieve of these small ignominious weevil ( Haplorhynchites aeneus ) as little sunflower serial killers .
The female weevil jaw through the stem of flowers just below the blooms , cutting most of the head off the plant .
Butinstead of complete the decapitation , the female mate with male weevil inside the cuts they ’ve made in the hang flower straits , and then after the nous finally fall to the basis , the eggs hatch .
If these flower point are bequeath on the ground , the weevil larvae will flow on them , move into the land to overwinter , and egress as adults the stick with summertime , quick to wreak more havoc in your heyday patch .
The best thing to do if you notice decapitated flower heads is to sting or otherwise get rid of them .
To ensure existing infestation , spray the backs of the flower heads with insecticidal soap or a neem oil mixture .
Want to cognize More ?
Then check up on out ourfull templet to sunflower pest designation and control .
Disease
These diseases can have some serious hurt to your crop , so it ’s good to check for signs of these common culprit as often as you could .
Is your sunflower foliage suddenly bespeckle with sensationalistic - echo black maculation ? Or are the stems develop dark streak and blotch , like an overripe banana ?
Your plant may be suffering fromAlternaria , a blight that affects farewell , stem , and sometimes flower head . It is do by the fungiAlternaria helianthiandA. zinniae .
To avoid infection , desist from overhead watering and make trusted there ’s plenty of airflow between plants . If infected , spray with a fungicide , and remove and demolish the plant at the end of the grow season .
If the stems begin turning mordant and the eternal rest of the plant life wilt too , your flower might be suffering from Phoma disgraceful stem or Phomopsis root word canker . These infections are due to the fungiPhoma macdonaldiiandPhomopsis helianthi , severally .
There ’s no efficacious fungicide available for treating these diseases , so the good thing to do is practice session crop rotation , select resistant cultivars , avoid overly moist condition , and ensure adequate air flow between plants .
The first signs of this transmission , because of the fungiRhizopus arrhizus , R. stolonifer , andR. microsporus , are black spots on the backs of your helianthus heads .
Once these spots develop , it ’s only a affair of time before the entire head shrivels and fills with spore can easily spread to surrounding works in long-winded conditions .
While there are no efficacious control measure available , save helianthus top dog moth and bud moth populations under control can aid to forbid the spread of this disease . The moth damage tends to make plant more susceptible to Rhizopus Head Rot .
Various types of fungal rust infection can blight sunflowers , let in yellow rusting ( get byColeosporium helianthi ) , whitened rust ( caused byAlbugo tragopogonis ) , and red rust ( caused byPuccinia helianthi ) .
Depending on the type of rust , these cause orange , icteric , or whitish stain to develop on leaf and sometimes even the stems .
practice a copper - based fungicide to address rust , and attempt to avoid it in the first place by planting tolerant cultivar , keep leave of absence teetotal , and disinfecting all your horticulture tools between each use and between works to prevent counterpane .
Also known as Sclerotinia wilt , snowy mold is the most devastating helianthus disease out there .
because of a fungous pathogen , Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , the disease usually remove the roots first , cause the sunflower wilt suddenly . And then – as though that was n’t enough – a canker develops at the base of the industrial plant and eventually take over much of the stem turn .
There ’s not much you may do once blank mould hits your sunflower patch , except extract and destroy affect plants and hope that the disease does n’t distribute too much .
Next time of year , implant a non - host , such as Zea mays or another grain , in the area and avoid giving helianthus a home there again for four year .
get a line more about treating the diseases that affect sunflowers .
Harvesting Sunflower Seeds
glean the seeds after most of the flower petals have die and dropped off . Then , cut off the seed head and about two inches of stem .
Hang the head to dry by their stems in a well - ventilated surface area . Once they are whole dry , rub the flower manoeuvre together to tease them , and the seeds should be easy to take out .
One way to make the semen for eat is to soak them in salty water supply overnight , debilitate them , and spread them on a baking sheet to roast for three hours at 200 ° farad .
Yum !
record more about harvesting helianthus germ here .
Preserving
To economize the seed for planting next summer , memory board dried ( not roasted ) seed in a chocolate-brown paper dish . They ’ll remain executable for up to seven years !
If you be after to eat most of your seeds , here are a few crucial point to remember :
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
helianthus seed are n’t just ripe for snacks !
They make an incredible pesto , like you ’ll find in this spinach and sunflower seminal fluid pesto grill chicken recipefrom our sister site , Foodal .
you’re able to also employ the semen to make a healthier breading for deep-fried Gallus gallus , asin this Foodal recipe .
Seriously , how delicious do those Gallus gallus finger’s breadth search ?
The tasty seeds are filled with iron , protein , vitamin Es , fiber , and zinc , so they ’re nutritious any manner you choose to enjoy them .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
A Sun Worshipper to Turn Every Head
Whether you care to gaze at their beauty or eat their luscious seed , sunflowers are a treat to raise . If you have a red firm like I do , they ’re passably much a yearly must - have for the front flower beds .
And for moreinformation about growing sunflowersin your garden , gibe out these clause next :
photo by Kelli McGrane , Laura Melchor , and Meghan Yager © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more contingent . Originally published September 10th , 2014 . Last updated April 2nd , 2023 . Cartesian product photos via Arbico Organics , Burpee , Eden Brothers , and honest Leaf Market . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Laura Ojeda Melchor
