I just planted out the sunflower seedlings yesterday on a glorious afternoon here in Scottish Borders. We have had a lot of rain and wind so yesterday was a relief with sunshine and warmth and birdsong and good to be in the garden feeling. Pak Choi eating well as are our rocket, lettuce and cress leaves and lettuces..courgettes to be planted out today and the potatoes and onions are looking good! Our garden did not suffer too much from those awful winds but delphiniums copped it a bit; still if you leave them they sort of right themselves if not too injured. I grow mine from seed I harvest off my plants and have done now for over 12 years and they are stunning...sometimes 8' tall. Lupins looking good and the tree peonies are just over but the Oriental poppies are just starting. The garden is filled with darting swallows and other garden birds.
My one ad only is 109cm. now so it has grown 33cm. in a week. I doubt whether it is a winner but it is a lovely plant and i shall proudly take its photograph if it produces a great big flower and perhaps paint it .
I have three sunflowers growing in a recycling green bin,(very useful!) that has been made redundant for a larger wheely bin. The largest of the sunflowers is 107 cm and I will be giving them a feed of nitrogen to get them growing. Although there is nothing quite like good old Mother Natures rain. (Its raining at the moment, hooray!!)
I am growing sunflowers for the first time, a variety called velvet queen. I have plants that are growing well but my question is about after the plants have flowered, and you have harvested the seeds. do you dead head the plants and cut the stems back to ground level for the following years growth,or do you dig the plants up and grow new plants from seed?
"Velvet Queen" is a variety of helianthus annuus (should be in italics" which is the botanical name for the annual sunflower. There are perennial varieties which are lovely but don't grow into giants. The fields of sunflowers which are grown to give us our sunflower seed oil for cooking are ploughed up each year just like our rape which gives us our rape-seed oil.
I did enjoy the BBC4 programme called "Botany, the Blooming of Plants", last night very much.
Hi i have sunflowers now in bloom,but i also have small flower heads growing off the stems,they are only the size of a five pence but they look as if they are going to open,not all of my sunflowers have these on them. Can anyone please tell me why this has happened.
This year i planted some annuals called Swan river Daisy's they were a freebie, i planted them in a container and look really pretty and are surviving well in the drought here in south west france, i have looked them up for next year but no results on here, they are English seeds from Thompsons i think, the pkt ha sfaded in the sun, can anyone help!!
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Runnerbeans – gosh, that is early. Did they grow tall, or have they dwarfed in all the dry, sunny weather?
Donutmrs/happymarion – training up a drainpipe is a great idea. If only I had one…
karen – I think you’re winning so far. Can anyone else beat 143cm tall?
Dan Martin – don’t despair, my garden is shady too. Just think how tall your sunflowers will grow trying to reach the sun…
I’m going to measure mine again tonight. The nettle feed is nearly ready….
(Its raining at the moment, hooray!!)
I did enjoy the BBC4 programme called "Botany, the Blooming of Plants", last night very much.
Thanks
I managed to plant 6 giants out. 1 is huge at 210cm, 2 are about 170cm and others vary. And no sign of full flowers yet so still growing