the magnificent sunflowers

Growing the colourful flower in the garden

The sunflower is often not only an eye-catcher in the garden, but some varieties are also suppliers of delicious sunflower seeds for humans and animals. There are so many varieties to choose from and it often takes a long time to decide which one is the right one for the home garden. From yellow to brown to red, these friendly flowers offer a unique variety and delight every garden owner with their blooms. We have some tips for you on how to make the sunflower feel at home in your garden.

Location

The right location is crucial for the sunflower. As the sunflower - as its name suggests - is an absolute sun worshipper, a shady or semi-shady location is out of the question for it. The plants don`t like wind either, especially as their large flower heads can easily snap off as they grow. A sunny position directly in front of a wall, fence or trellis is perfect, as these objects can also serve as supports. The sunflower is one of the plants that, in addition to the perfect location, feels most at home in nutrient-rich soil. The soil should be as rich in humus as possible or enriched with horn shavings or compost. The sunflower does not like waterlogging at all, so the soil should be well loosened beforehand so that the water does not accumulate on the seeds or roots.

Seeding

If you want to sow the sunflower directly, you should definitely wait for constant, high temperatures, as sunflower seeds do not like frost at all. When sowing, the seeds should be 3 - 4 cm deep in the soil at a distance of 30 to 40 cm, as the plants will later grow very large and will otherwise interfere with each other.
If you want to start growing earlier, the seeds can be grown on the windowsill from March. The advantage of early cultivation indoors is that the small plants are already bigger and stronger when you transfer them to the bed, so they have an easier start. They are also less likely to fall victim to predators such as snails, which like to feast on young sunflowers.

Distance

In general, a distance of at least 30 - 40 cm should be maintained. However, as most sunflowers are not typically sown in the vegetable patch, you should make sure that if you plant them along a wall, no more than 4 sunflower plants are planted per 1 square metre. This will ensure that the flowers do not take away each other`s sun and energy for growth.

Care

Sunflowers need plenty of water and should be fertilised regularly to provide the best conditions for this beautiful flower. However, it is also important never to overwater the plants, as they do not tolerate waterlogging. Nettle manure, for example, is an excellent fertiliser, as nitrogen-rich fertiliser is ideal for sunflowers.

Protection against pests and diseases

Good partners in a mixed crop are: Cucumber, courgette, pumpkin, white cabbage, broccoli, beetroot or carrots.
Sunflowers are very popular with insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars and beetles, which eat the leaves. When the flower heads grow large and sunflower seeds emerge, birds are extremely fond of eating them. To protect against this, nets should be stretched over the flowers from this time onwards.
In order to additionally protect the sunflower from diseases such as mildew, downy mildew, leaf spot, etc., the plant should be provided with the optimum conditions, as this often enables the sunflowers to develop sufficient defences.

Harvest

There are usually several signs that the sunflower seeds are ripe: Firstly, the leaves of the plants slowly start to turn yellow or brown and secondly, most of the petals fall off. If the sunflower seeds can then be easily detached from the flower heads, you know for sure that you can harvest them.
It can also happen that the entire flower heads of the sunflowers snap off. If the kernels cannot yet be properly detached from the kinked heads, they can be left in the sun for a while. It is important to protect them with netting, because if the birds discover the tasty treat, you will have no harvest left. However, some gardeners leave the richly filled flower heads as welcome food for the birds in autumn and winter.