Who can resist feeling happy or hopeful when staring into the face of a bright sunflower? Very easy to grow, attracts beneficial insects and birds, edible seeds, and beautiful, uplifting flowers.
Botanical Information
Taxonomy
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Helianthus |
from Wikipedia
History
Physical Description
Varieties & Cultivars
Categories or Types of Sunflowers
Sunflowers are classified according to what purposed they are grown. Some fall into multiple categories. And although all of them produce flowers, and would be considered ornamental, only the most ornamental earn the “ornamental designation. Here are the categories:
- Ornamental
- Seeds
- Oil
Colors Available
- Yellows (lightest lemon yellow all the way to dark golden yellow)
- Oranges
- Reds (red to almost black-red)
- Tiger’s Eye: not a color, but a pattern showing one color around the center, and a lighter color toward the outside of the petals
Varietal Notes
Personal records & notes on Sunflower Varieties
Growth Requirements
Climate & Temperature Requirements
Air Temperature
Soil Temperature
Humidity
Day Length or Light Requirements
Needs full sun BG
Site Conditions Favored
Soil Requirements
Soil Texture
pH
Nutrient Requirements
Propagation
Timing
Plant seeds in the spring for flowers & seed in mid- to late-summer
Methods of propagation
Seed
- Favored method of propagation
- best to be started outdoors after danger of frost has past BG
- can also be started indoors in flats 3-4 weeks before last frost BG
- germination takes 7-14 days BG
Division
Not a viable form of propagation
Cuttings
?? never tried…
Transplanting or Potting Up
- can be transplanted, but best to start outdoors BG
- no need to up-pot
Seed Saving
- great plant for seed saving
- very easy
- see Harvest section for how to harvest seeds
Planting Out
Bed Prep & Soil Amendments
Bed Spacing
Row Spacing
Planting Depth
- 1/4″ deep BG
Alternative Bed Methods
Container Gardening
Routine Cultivation & Maintenance
Water Requirements
- for best flower display, make sure it doesn’t get dry enough to wilt BG
Fertilization Recommendations
- for best flower display, fertilize well BG
Mulching & Weeding
Pinching or Pruning & Dividing
Support
- sometimes stakes and string are needed to hold up the tall stems & heavy flower heads
Winterizing
Companion Planting
Sunflowers are a great addition to a garden because they, along with many other composite flowers, attract predatory insects and pollinators. HGMV
Helpful Companions
Harmful Companions
Companion to..
Antagonist to…
Pests, Diseases & Problems
Common Pests
Common Diseases
Symptoms
Whole Plant
Leaves
Stem/Trunk
Flowers
Fruit
Roots
Harvesting & Storage
Edible Parts of the Plant
Yield
Days to Harvest / Harvest Timing
Harvest Methods
Storage of harvest
Fresh
Canned
Frozen
Pickled
Dried
Cooking
Nutritional Benefits & Values
Toxicity
Cooking
Preparation
Cooking Methods
Recipes (link to …/category/recipes/tag/[plantname])
Resources
Information for this article was taken from these sources:
- BG: Bountiful Gardens
- HGMV: How to Grow More Vegetables