With bright blooms that go from mid-summer to early fall, sunflowers say “summer” like no other plant. Our Sunflower Growing Guide covers everything from planting to cutting flowers to harvesting seeds!
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant with a large daisy-like flower face. Its scientific name comes from the Greek words helios (“sun”) and anthos (“flower”). The flowers come in many colors (yellow, red, orange, maroon, brown) but they are commonly bright yellow with brown centers that ripen into heavy heads filled with seeds.
Here and yonder, high and low,
Goldenrod and sunflowers glow.
–Robert Kelley Weeks (1840–76)
How Long Do Sunflowers Take to Bloom?
A fairly fast-growing flower, most sunflower varieties mature in only 85 to 95 days. The largest sunflower varieties grow to over 16 feet in height, while smaller varieties have been developed for small spaces and containers and rarely grow larger than a foot tall! The flower heads can can reach over 12 inches in diameter within the large seeded varieties.
Sunflowers are heliotropic, which means that they turn their flowers to follow the movement of the Sun across the sky east to west, and then returns at night to face the east, ready again for the morning sun. Heliotropism happens during the earlier stages before the flower grows heavy with seeds.
Very few plants are as heat-tolerant, resistant to pests, and simply beautiful. Sunflowers make excellent cut flowers and many are attractive to bees and birds.
At the end of the season, it’s easy to harvest sunflower seeds for a tasty snack or for replanting (see instructions below). Learn more about why you should start growing these happy flowers in your garden.
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sunflowers fading
It’s hard to tell what’s going on here exactly, but if you planted hybrid sunflowers last year and this year’s are volunteers, they are not likely to repeat the growth pattern they had last year. Hybrid seeds are “made” to perform once, and never quite the same way again. Heirlooms, on the other hand, will volunteer and regrow to be very similar to the prior year’s plant. So curb your enthusiasm and enjoy the marigolds. Plan to do something different next year. It will be here before you know it!
sunflower
One of my sunflower, the flower was bit off. Will another one grow or should I get another one?
Sunflower leaves
I Just started growing sunflowers and I noticed that the leaves are curling. Is this normal? What can I do or should I do nothing
Thank you
from East Meadow, New York
Keeping critters from devouring sunflower seeds
I am at my wits end from keeping rabbits, chipmunks & squirrels from either digging up & eating sunflower seeds to biting off the seedling heads. I have gotten to the point of having my husband putting a shelf on the outside back wall of our garage & planting sunflower seeds in a pot on a shelf on the wall! Even then - I wonder if chippy can scale the wall vertically! We'll see. I also tried repellants & moth balls - nothing works for long. I managed to have one sunflower seedling that grew up with a squash plant - maybe the rabbits don't see it. It's now June 25th, and I am trying one more time for the season - is this too late? We're in zone 6 - south of Lake Ontario near Syracuse NY
Sunflowers Late June
Go ahead and try again. See if you can find them in 4-inch pots (versus starting from seed).
growing sunflowers
Hi. I wanted to know if it is too late for me to plant sunflowers in metro Atlanta Georgia? Also, where is the best place because my house gets direct sun on the front side in the morning and direct sun on the back side in the evening? if it is too late for outside, can I grow them inside until I can transfer them out? I have a hard time keeping plants alive both indoor and out but the planting of sunflowers was a request from my aunt as a memorial. I want to honor it if possible. Thanks for your help!!!!!
sunflowers in sun
Hi, Karina, It’s never too late to try! As noted above, the plants or seeds should get 6 to 8 hours of sun. plant where the sunlight falls the longest. If it’s really even-steven, you could try both sides! Your area has the benefit summer weather into the fall, so you may have more luck than you think. Bottom line: better to do it and know you tried. Next year, just start sooner!
Hi! I live in Atlanta as well
Hi! I live in Atlanta as well and I planted a sunflower seed and it was absolutely beautiful! It's about 7feet tall and I have the same issue with sun in the front and back but I played the sunflower in the front for the morning sunshine and it worked. I only watered it once a day around 8pm each night! I would be happy to send pictures if you'd like! Good luck!
Hollyhocks
When to plant? I live in southern utah.
Is it a good idea to Soak seeds overnight
before planting any Variety of Plant?
sunflowers
Hi, i planted some sunflowers. The kind with only one bloom. I just wanted to know what kind have more then one bloom. I would to plant those so i could keep seeing the blooms come in.
Sunflower growing
I live in Michigan and want to start growing sunflowers and I was wondering when the best time to plant seeds and how to keep them growing annual?
Michigan is such a great
Michigan is such a great place. The corn grows there! If you already have a garden open, plant your seeds directly in the soil about an inch deep. Make sure its in a sunny location...all day sun. Sunflowers are annuals, meaning they only grow once. Then harvest your seeds after the flower blooms and wilts by cutting the flower off about 6" down the stalk and the rest is in this article.
Good Luck
sunflower growing
I like farming and I would like to start growing sunflower at a large scale (commercial) . Growing like 50 bags of sunflower how many 50 kg bags of fertilizer do I need? Please I need your advice
Hi Stanley,
Hi Stanley,
To grow acres of sunflowers will take some planning. Please go to the links below to get some good advice.
http://www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/
http://sanangelo.tamu.edu/extension/agronomy/agronomy-publications/sunfl...
Fall bloom
I would love to have some mammoth sunflowers
Bloom in the fall, when do I plant here in Califonia?
When To Plant Sunflowers
They take 80-120 days to bloom. I would plant some now and every 2 weeks until about mid July.
Sunflower seeds
I am searching searching... I want to harvest my mammoth sunflower seeds in order to plant more! How long should/would I need to wait after harvest to plant the freshly harvested seeds? And is this standard practice for most sunflower seeds. Thanks so much.
Before you harvest the seeds,
Before you harvest the seeds, the sunflower head must be completely dry. If you leave the heads on the plants to dry you risk loosing some to birds and other critters. Drying them indoors or in a protected area is a good idea. The time it takes to dry depends on how mature the seeds are and what the conditions are in the area where you dry the seeds. Like any seeds, keep them in a cool dry place until you replant them next spring.
mammoth sunflowers / help please
I have never grown sunflowers before and not sure what they are suppose to do mine are about 4 feet tall right now some have one bloom on them and others have 4 or 5 the blooms are only about 3 to 5 inches but the yellow petils are already falling off is that normal I thought the mammoth had large flower heads on them and well the bloom more this season ? Any help would be appreciated .
Dwarf Sunspot Sunflowers
How deep should the soil be for dwarf sunspot sunflowers in containers? Thanks
pot size
Most sunflowers develop pretty significant root systems, even small ones like these that mature at 1 to 2 feet, so give them about 10 inches—that a base (underground) of about one-third to one-half of the plant at maturity. It’s a rough gauge—you just don’t want the plants to be top heavy in pots that are too small.
Hey there
Hey there
I'm in Southern California and I'm seeing if there is a market for 3-4 week old, single stem, pollen free, grown from seed sunflowers.
Thanks
Craig
Squished stem
My kindergarten's class planted sunflower seed in milk cartons. Today they sent them home from school and my rambunctious 5 year old was expected to get this poor baby plant home safely without any kind of stake or support. (Ya right). So anyways when she got home the stem is kind of squished about halfway up the stem and it no longer wants to stand at all. I used plastic straws to prop it up the best I could but I'm hoping I can still save this poor plant. My daughter and I would both be very sad to lose it. I just have no idea what the best action is. Do I continue to support it for now and wait til I can transplant it or is there some course of action that would be better. Please help.
Popsicle sticks might be a
Popsicle sticks might be a good tool for propping your sunflower. If the sunflower is planted in a small container, you need to plant it in the garden. Wait until the last frost date in your area.
https://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states
sunflowers
i started my seeds inside they are king of tall can i plant them deeper than 5 inches as long as the leaves are above the soil????
We normally plant sunflowers
We normally plant sunflowers seeds directly into the ground because sunflowers have long taproots and it’s often hard to predict when the soil is warm enough to plant.
Most seedlings do best when they’re transplanted right away but if they get too leggy, it should be OK to transplant them deeper. Bury them to about 1” below the lowest leaves. To avoid pests, you may want to keep a milk bottle around them until they’re well established and maybe circle them with slug deterrant, too.
care of sunflower
have rescued a 4 ft tall sunflower, thick stem, leaves all almost withered and a big head on it which is totally brown. can you tell me what fertiliser I should put on it if any. I have put it in a fairly deep hole in a sheltered position formed by 2 walls and it will get plenty of afternoon sunlight. how often should I water it. the soil here is sandy. and will its leaves grow back
If the flower is brown the
If the flower is brown the plant is probably not going to bloom again. Most tall sunflowers only grow one flower and after it matures you’ll see the sunflower seeds.
sunflowers
I had to redo a garden and added a lot of soil suitable for roses as well as compost. A selfsewn sunflower came up and reached a height of just over a metre. The flower head was as big as a small dinner plate. I have harvested this for my cockatoo but I am not sure if the plant will produce any more flowers or should I now pull it out. It doesn't have any sign of any more flowers forming and we are now coming into Autumn so it is getting cooler.
Hi Jan,
Hi Jan,
Most of the tall varieties of sunflowers have one flower per stem. Some bushier varieties have side stems and multiple flowers. It sounds like your plant is single flower. After you harvest the seeds you can pull the stem. You can save a few of the seeds to plant next spring.
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