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Growing Sunflower

(helianthus annuus)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				P	P

(Best months for planting Sunflower in USA - Zone 5a regions)

P = Plant direct in garden where they are to grow.

Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
Space plants: 8 - 12 inches apart
Harvest in 10-11 weeks.
Compatible with: Cucumbers, Melons, Sweetcorn, Squash
Avoid growing with: Potatoes

Young plants

Large showy flowers, available in a variety of colours Giant or Russian varieties are best for seed production

Sunflowers do not like to be transplanted.

Grow to 1 - 2 metres (4 - 6 ft) so need staking or protection from the wind. Protect the seed heads from birds when ripening.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Sunflower

Use seeds fresh or toasted

Your comments and tips

11 Apr 13, carine ferreira (Australia - sub-tropical climate): planted sunflowers in pots 10 april want flowers to be at their peak 23 june. Think we ll be ok?
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31 Jan 13, Pam (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): I transplanted 150 Sunflower seedlings and now have lovely big strong plants and lots of flowers out. Hasnt affected mine any.
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16 Jan 13, koos (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): best seeds to eat
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09 Aug 12, anneli (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate): Getting married in November and want to use sunflowers. Are they available then. How long until they bloom from the time you plant them?
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12 Aug 11, Tony (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I transplanted 4 sunflowers from seedling pots and they grew very well. They were about 10cm tall when I did this.
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01 Dec 10, Patrick Conteh (Australia - temperate climate): Please advise on the variety of sunflower to grow commercially for oil in Sierra Leone with temperatures that average 25 degrees C, Rainfall not a problem
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26 Apr 10, Jennifer (Australia - temperate climate): I had a few questions about planting sunflowers; just by reading others' comments I now have the confidence to give it a go. Thank you so much for this site!
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19 Apr 10, C lee (Australia - temperate climate): Stephen sunflowers wont react too good if u transplant so i would recommend just pulling out the weakest ones and letting the strong ones live.
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19 Feb 10, stephen (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Garden centre seeds were too expensive so I planted a whole heap of sunflower seeds which we buy from the supermarket for our cockatoo. Now I have got heaps of seedlings all very close to one another. Should I thin them out by transplanting or by pinching out? And what do you reckon is the minimum space I can leave between seedlings. Thanks
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26 Jan 10, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Taryn, in sub-tropical areas they should last well into autumn. You can plant now (January) to ensure they will grow through autumn, and start planting again in early spring.
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Post a question, comment or tip about Sunflower

Replying to:

will they survive autum and spring i know they won't survive winter and they will survive summer but what about autum and springe!

- Taryn

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.

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