When to sow sunflowers?
You will sow the sunflower, between April and May, once the risk of frost is removed.
Which varieties to choose?
There are many varieties of sunflowers, but some are more suitable than others in the garden:
- The sunspot : it is one of the most known varieties. Its flowers are very large, but they do not generally exceed 60 cm.
- The Lemon Queen It is a very bright and very recent variety.
- Sunset : it is spectacular with its flowers culminating at 2 meters in height.
- The Vincent Van Gogh It is very popular in the garden, it produces very pretty yellow flowers with a black heart and is generally around 1.50 meters.
- The Teddy Bear : it has a specificity that distinguishes it from others, it gives flowers in a ball that are very particular and very pretty.
- The Velvet Queen : it is distinguished by the color of its flower of a very beautiful brown red. It is a beautiful sunflower very spectacular.
What to do before sowing sunflowers?
Before planting the sunflowers, it will be necessary to prepare the ground:
- The best is to dig the soil carefully on about twenty centimeters.
- It is necessary to remove all pebbles, roots and weeds.
- Then you scratch the ground to break the clods and get a fine seedbed.
- To finish, pass the rake to finish this job and to crumble the earth properly.
How to sow them?
Sunflower is usually sown online:
- You can draw a line and form a furrow with the handle of the rake.
- Place a sunflower seed 3 cm deep, every 10 cm.
- You can also sow 3 seeds in each hole (if the soil is really wet, put a little sand with each packet).
- Space each line six inches.
- Cover the seeds with dry earth to a thickness of 2 cm using a rake.
- Tamp a little so that the seeds are in contact with the soil.
- Water correctly.
If the weather conditions are favorable and if the sun is at the rendezvous, the flowers will be very beautiful.
Sowing or division of bulbs:
- Concerning the periantal shrubs: it is better to sow them in terrine or under cold frame in the spring. You will divide the clumps in spring or autumn.
- Rhizomatous varieties that are highly invasive propagate easily by removing the bulbs that spread in large quantities from one year to another.
- The annuals are set up in the spring of March-April. It will simply install stakes quickly enough, the flowers being heavy, they tilt the rod.
Where to plant sunflowers?
The location you choose for your sunflowers should be sunny. Sunflower needs sun all day. He also appreciates very hot climates.
he do not like the grounds too wet. He likes soils that are not very fertile, slightly alkaline and well drained and that stay cool in summer. He loves the land near the water: stream, pond, septic tank drain and summers, long and hot.
If the earth is compact and heavy, it must be lightened by incorporating some sand. The ideal is to put it in a little windy area.
You can form separation hedges quite easily between the ornamental garden and the orchard or vegetable garden for example. You can also use it as a windbreak by holding your plants properly with stakes.
How to maintain them?
The sunflower tends to germinate very quickly, after just a few days, the seed opens and a small white germ appears to take root. Once well anchored, the stem unfolds, lifting the rest of the seed. Finally after 2 to 3 days of germination, the shell opens and falls, and two small round leaves appear: the cotyledons.
The roots are very fragile and it is difficult to transplant the sunflower. Depending on the variety, a stem bears one or more flowers.
How to water the sunflowers?
During the summer, the sunflowers should be watered regularly and regularly. In this way, the seeds will be fuller and the harvest will be more beautiful.
When sunflowers have grown well, start spacing the waterings, they are more resistant to drought when they have a long and strong main root. It is then necessary to water them abundantly in a regular way, but being careful to wait until the soil is dry between waterings. You risk damaging your plants by basting them too much.
Avoid wetting the flowers so that the water does not damage them.
Harvest sunflowers: when and how?
At the end of September, the sunflower seeds mature. The flowers are bending the head and the stem is drying, this is the moment when you can harvest.
You must then cut the whole heads and put them to dry in a sheltered and dry place. After a few days, the seeds will sound hollow and dry, when you touch them with the fingernail. They are then easy to pick up by rubbing energetically.
Cut the flowers: we must wait until they are open to a quarter only to cut them. At this point you will see that the petals are perpendicular to the heart. They will hold much better in vase if you make your bouquets at this time. They usually take 5 days or more in the case of certain varieties.
Our advices :
- Cut them rather early in the evening or in the morning.
- Your pruner or knife must be perfectly clean.
- Remove the leaves that may dip in the water of the vase. Only the stem should be submerged in water.
- Put them right away in your vase.
Sunflower diseases and what to do?
Sunflower is particularly susceptible to mildew. It is very important to identify the possible attack and to fight it very quickly. You have to look for yellow leaves. In case of wet or clay soil, mildew is a real threat.
You must therefore pay attention to your plants to see if there are symptoms of the disease. Leaf wilt in addition to yellowing and the formation of white cottony deposits are signs that should alarm you. When you spot it, reduce watering and let the soil dry properly and apply a fungicide afterwards. It is rare for infected plants to bloom, but it is best to pull them out to prevent the disease from spreading to others.
If your leaves have a normal appearance, but they are light yellow. Your plants suffer from a bacterial infection. Let the soil dry and everything should work out spontaneously.
When the leaves are yellow and their veins are green, they suffer from a lack of minerals. It is difficult to say where it comes from, but you can water the plants with diluted fertilizer to solve this problem.
When they start to grow, the sunflowers lose their first leaves. If the bottom leaves fall and turn yellow while the others are beautiful, you do not have to worry about illness.
The worst enemies of sunflowers are the slugs and snailsit is therefore absolutely necessary to protect them from these pests. You can set traps with beer, these little animals fall in without any problem. You can also pick them up or put on their feet repellent designed specifically for this purpose that will repel them.
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