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Index : Flowers - Perennials
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- 15. Sunflowers Are Sun-sational! - Top
Sunflowers are some of the most interesting and attractive of all garden flowers. They are well adapted to heat, and love strong sunlight; making them ideal for Tucson gardens.
When most people think of sunflowers, they picture massive flower heads comprised of a broad center of brown disk flowers, surrounded by a ring of bright yellow ray flowers. Larger types, such as Russian Giant and Paul Bunyan grow 10 to 15 feet tall and produce 2 pound flower heads nearly 2 feet across! But many smaller cultivars, more suited to confined garden spaces, are available. Some like Elf are a mere 16 inches tall with 4 inch blossoms.
Sunflowers come in an array of colors. Yellow is still the favorite, but there red, bronze, orange and bicolored blossoms of orange tipped with yellow. Some sunflowers, like Teddy Bear, don't even look like a sunflower, but rather a large marigold. If you're growing sunflowers to prepare and eat as snacks or for bird feed, select "confectionery" types over the oil types. These include: Mammoth, Paul Bunyan, and Aztec Gold.
The best selection of sunflower cultivars I have found comes from Burpee Seed Company. You can go directly to Burpee's on-line listing of sunflowers at www.burpee.com/sunflowers/ or you can call them at: 1-800-333-5808 to request a copy of their seed catalog.
Sunflower seeds can be planted anytime from May through July. It usually takes about 80 days from planting to maturity. Potted sunflowers can sometimes be purchased at garden centers. These will mature several weeks sooner than those grown from seed.
When growing from seed, you may want to sprout the seeds in containers, using a quality potting mix. In this manner, you will know which seeds germinate and grow vigorously before planting them out into the garden.
Sunflowers should be planted in improved garden soil. Mix in organic matter prior to planting. This could be compost, peat moss, potting soil, or composted manure. Use enough organic matter to achieve a 50-50 mix with the soil. Till the soil to a depth of 12 inches. In addition, work in some ammonium phosphate or flowering plant fertilizer - about one pound for a 10x10 foot area.
Choose an area for planting that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Sunflowers can tolerate full sun, all day long, even here in the desert. As they are growing, sunflowers will tip their flowers in the direction of the sun, following it along during the day. That's why a field full of sunflowers will always be pointed the same direction. However, nearing maturity, most sunflowers stop turning and face east. With this in mind, plant them where they can be enjoyed the most. If sunflowers do not receive enough sun, their stems will stretch and they will not be able to support their blossoms.
Space sunflowers 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the size of the cultivar. Tall growing types should be placed at the back of the bed, with shorter ones towards the front. Sunflowers look great in groupings or planted individually among garden and landscape plants.
Watering should be often enough to keep the soil consistently moist. Daily watering will be necessary for much of the Summer, excluding periods of rain. To help retain moisture, cover the ground under and around sunflowers with a three inch layer of straw, compost, leaves, ground cedar mulch or other suitable organic matter.
If you cut sunflowers for arrangements, do it in the early morning when flowers are at the peak of freshness. Put them immediately into a vase of cool water. Change the water daily to keep it fresh and free of bacteria. Sunflowers will last in arrangements for several weeks if kept out of full sun. To prepare sunflowers for dried arrangements, select varieties with smaller blossoms. The flowers can be air-dried upside down. They can also be placed in a box and covered with fine sand or borax powder to hold the petals in place as they dry.
If you wish to harvest the seeds, wait until they are mature. Flowers in the center of the flower disk will have shriveled. The flower head will have begun to droop and the green back-side of the head will have turned yellow. Finally, pull a few seeds out and split them with a knife. The kernel inside should be solid and well-formed.
To harvest, cut the flower head off leaving about one foot of the stem attached. Place the flower head in a paper bag or cheesecloth sack and hang upside down in warm, dry location. The bag will catch any seeds that may fall during drying. When the seeds have dried, they can be easily rubbed from the head.
To prepare the sunflowers for eating, cover the unshelled seeds with salted water (one half cup of salt to 2 quarts of water) and bring to a boil. Simmer for two hours. Or you can simply soak the seeds in the salt solution overnight.
Prior to roasting, drain and dry the seeds on paper toweling. Put sunflower seeds in a shallow pan in a 300 degree F. oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Take them out of the oven and add one teaspoon of melted butter or margarine to one cup of seeds. Stir to coat. Put on an absorbent towel. Salt to taste.
For non-fat alternatives, spray the toasted seeds with butter-flavored cooking spray, mix, then salt. Or omit the oil spray and salt completely.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161 - Updated: June 23, 2002
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