Sunflowers 16th July 2010 002

Have potted 5 seeds, indoors, Balconey.
Trying to give them a head start.
Any advice?

Not a good idea! You should have waited longer they don't like being moved! I know because 2 years ago I dug up some while they were still very small & put them in another bed where they sulked all summer till near the end when thy perked up & grew a few feet & eventually flowered. I also transplanted some I had growing in pots & 3/4 of the same!

You'd be well advised I think to wait till the end of April & then plant them out as soon as the first true leaves get big or you may find they sulk like mine did!

No harm will come to them if you plant them outside in their flowering position anytime in May. They have become a "weed" on the allotments I share with Gerry. Where the Sunflower above was growing!

I'm at 6's & 7's trying to follow all these members' pages I've posted comments on, Balconey.
Anyway, too late for 5 of them, I guess! Lol.
I left a comment, somewhere, for you with...you've guessed it...another question.
I'm off to see if I can track it down. :-/
Chat later, buddy. Lol.

I'll find it, don't worry! But you can always PM me with anything you think I may be able to help you with.

Good idea. I should have thought of that.

Glad to be of help! :-))

How tall do they grow, Balconey?

Anywhere between about a metre for the short ones to 3 metres for the tallest ones - some people even get them to grow as high as 4m of more! I've no idea how!

We have mostly multi-headed Sunflowers on the allotment & they grow up to around 3 metres if they get sufficient water. They produce a dozen heads or more; one is bigger than all the others but even so some of the heads can get quite big.

Presumably, the seeds can be eaten or sown the following year?

Yes to both! Gerry grows them for his aviary birds & also the wild birds that frequent his garden. My wife likes to eat the seeds so I always save a few heads for her.

I do save some but it's not all that necessary as they spring up like weed seeds in May every year! I have to pull them up where they are in my way but where they don't bother me I let them grow. I like them very much.

The one in my avatar photo earned me a bottle of Rose wine for being the tallest in the competition on the allotment - by half an inch! LOL!

Was the judge a woman?
Ladies, I was kidding, honest! ;-)

As the judging was on a Sunday I was at church & didn't see who did the judging. I think I saw a photo of a group of allotmenteers standing under a Sunflower, not mine I don't think, related to the judging & it was a mixed group. I imagine therefore that both men & women took place in the judging.