Transplanting sunflowers

ahl389 · Thu Jul 16, 2015 2:22 pm

So I not-so-smartly planted a sunflower in a tiny pot - maybe 6 inches wide? And now I have a sunflower that's nearing two feet tall, no flower yet, and I'm quite sure it's too big for its home. It had been growing really fast for a couple weeks and now the growth has slowed quite a bit. Can I safely transplant it into a bigger pot or is it doomed? What will happen if I don't transplant it? Halp!

CharlieBear · Thu Jul 16, 2015 2:51 pm

If you mean pot it up without disturbing it's roots too much it is worth a shot. It is an annual, and admittedly they are transplanted at a much smaller stage, generally. If you do it pick a pot much larger than the one you are transplanting it out of to imitate planting an annual in the open ground. You don't say where you are, how hot it is etc., so any advise is at best a guess. Assuming you decide to give it a try, do it in the morning before the heat of the day. Water it in well and make sure it doesn't dry out too much between waterings. Good luck

ahl389 · Thu Jul 16, 2015 3:03 pm

Thanks, I'm in NY. It's averaging in the mid 80s this July. I believe this evening/tomorrow morning will be on the cooler side, low 70s. I don't know why I didn't transplant it before! Do you think it will keep growing if I keep it where it is, or will it just quit cause it doesn't have room?

CharlieBear · Thu Jul 16, 2015 3:59 pm

It is unlikely to push much of a usable flower head in that small pot, but it might try. It is very hard to keep something properly hydrated in such a small space and give it enough nutrients to grow properly.

ahl389 · Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:20 pm

It's cooled off a bit as the sun moved off my patio late afternoon, so I decided to give it a try. I was able to get it out of the pot with much of the root unbothered and put it into nice moist soil in a bigger pot. I think it will be okay, but only time will tell!

ahl389 · Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:10 pm

I am happy to report that the plant is doing great so far! It's grown a little bit and its leaves are happy and perky!

applestar · Fri Jul 17, 2015 2:22 pm

I hope it settles in. Keep it well watered -- big thing with sunflowers is that they are thirsty plants.