Hi Wakeshine, I'm sorry to hear of these new problems. Some as you've mentioned are down to beginner's mistakes, such as forgetting the early ties/tying them too tight. We've all been there and mistakes are part of the learning process, obviously.
I've only been gardening for about 6 years and even the most experienced gardeners make mistakes, so don't be disheartened or put off by these problems. Sunflowers actually need very little in terms of care and attention.
They grow in almost any soil, although the richer the soil the bigger the plant and the greater the number of flowers. All they need, early on, is protection from slugs and snails (not easy this year), staking from when they are past about 3' tall and replacement stakes as the grow taller, a regular feed with a general purpose fertilizer or tomato feed while growing and a flower feed once they have flowered. Although, I have found that in compost rich soil, sunflowers only need water.
One of the mistakes, I think, was to use twine attached to the stem. In my experience twine, no matter how soft can cut into a plant stem, particularly in high winds and with a heavy plant, such as sunflowers. I always use the rubberised wire ties, which you can buy as a coiled length and cut to size. I get rubberised plant ties from Poundland, or B&M stores.
The twine you are using is perfectly fine, it's exactly the twine I use and is very strong. I can see from your pic's that the cane you have is certainly thick enough for the job. The cane doesn't have to be as close to the stem as in the pic's and I tend to use a single length of twine as it's very strong.
Bob the gardener is dead right about the longevity of sunflowers, though it depends when they were planted. During last year's mild winter I had one or two still in flower in early December. I hope your experience doesn't make you give up on sunflowers. They really are worth the effort for the beauty they give and the pollinating insects they attract.
And, you didn't make a mistake planting them in your rockery. They do fine in exposed places as long as they get at least 6 hours or so of sun each day. My front garden is East-facing and gets lots of wind but they thrive there. It's just a matter of judicious staking and tying in.
Finally, I doubt very, very much whether sunflowers that have been completely severed can survive, though I hope your sellotape job works. Here's a photo' of one of my sunflowers in 2014 that was twisted around and bent at 45 degrees by the wind, but with some added support went on to produce lots of flowers.
Don't give up hope wakeshine. Doghouse Riley posted about a broken azalea that his wife fixed with sellotape, he thought she was bonkers and wasting her time but it worked, it's now growing like a hedge in his front garden.
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Oh thanks Bob. I just haven't got time to keep re-staking and resucing them. I will have to though - can't watch them all snapping and dying.
Note to self - do not sew sunflower seeds ever again.
Hi Wakeshine, I'm sorry to hear of these new problems. Some as you've mentioned are down to beginner's mistakes, such as forgetting the early ties/tying them too tight. We've all been there and mistakes are part of the learning process, obviously.
I've only been gardening for about 6 years and even the most experienced gardeners make mistakes, so don't be disheartened or put off by these problems. Sunflowers actually need very little in terms of care and attention.
They grow in almost any soil, although the richer the soil the bigger the plant and the greater the number of flowers. All they need, early on, is protection from slugs and snails (not easy this year), staking from when they are past about 3' tall and replacement stakes as the grow taller, a regular feed with a general purpose fertilizer or tomato feed while growing and a flower feed once they have flowered. Although, I have found that in compost rich soil, sunflowers only need water.
One of the mistakes, I think, was to use twine attached to the stem. In my experience twine, no matter how soft can cut into a plant stem, particularly in high winds and with a heavy plant, such as sunflowers. I always use the rubberised wire ties, which you can buy as a coiled length and cut to size. I get rubberised plant ties from Poundland, or B&M stores.
The twine you are using is perfectly fine, it's exactly the twine I use and is very strong. I can see from your pic's that the cane you have is certainly thick enough for the job. The cane doesn't have to be as close to the stem as in the pic's and I tend to use a single length of twine as it's very strong.
Bob the gardener is dead right about the longevity of sunflowers, though it depends when they were planted. During last year's mild winter I had one or two still in flower in early December. I hope your experience doesn't make you give up on sunflowers. They really are worth the effort for the beauty they give and the pollinating insects they attract.
And, you didn't make a mistake planting them in your rockery. They do fine in exposed places as long as they get at least 6 hours or so of sun each day. My front garden is East-facing and gets lots of wind but they thrive there. It's just a matter of judicious staking and tying in.
Finally, I doubt very, very much whether sunflowers that have been completely severed can survive, though I hope your sellotape job works. Here's a photo' of one of my sunflowers in 2014 that was twisted around and bent at 45 degrees by the wind, but with some added support went on to produce lots of flowers.
Don't give up hope wakeshine. Doghouse Riley posted about a broken azalea that his wife fixed with sellotape, he thought she was bonkers and wasting her time but it worked, it's now growing like a hedge in his front garden.
You've got nothing to lose by giving it a go.