Those are really cool. Is this one a plant you just recently planted? how long does it take for it to grow? I guess I should ask if you plant them from seed or little baby plants and how long does it take to grow full size and produce a bloom like that.
I am wondering if sunflowers would work here along the east coast of central Florida. I haven't seen one down here.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30543
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Here's an excerpt from the May8 post when it all started (well, two days before)
Subject: 2014 pre-germinating/sprouting experiment Peas, Corn, Curcs
The thread isn't just about sunflowers but follows the sunflower progression until somewhere along the line, I mention continuing the sunflowers in another thread and provide the link.
Subject: 2014 pre-germinating/sprouting experiment Peas, Corn, Curcs
applestar wrote:Did I mention I'm trying sunflowers and beets now? Started soaking them two nights ago and after full day of rinse and drain, the sunflower seeds have already started to germinate....
The thread isn't just about sunflowers but follows the sunflower progression until somewhere along the line, I mention continuing the sunflowers in another thread and provide the link.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30543
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
The first to open large flower head and an couple of the next to open lateral heads of the tall super multi-headed sunflower from the OP (8-9 feet tall) and the single large headed short sunflower next to it (only about 6 feet tall) were ready to harvest today, so I took a last photo before beheading them.
Super multi-headed one is growing small lateral flower heads from
practically EVERY leaf node.
single head has striped white seeds. The super multi-head appear to have
black seeds.
The sunflower fence row has multi-headed plants as well as single large headed plants as well, and I've tagged three of them to save seeds from.
...I left those seed heads on the patio table to dry in the sun for the afternoon. Normally I would look out over the patio from the window above several times in the afternoon, but I wasn't able to today.... And 1/2 of one of the smaller heads had been eaten and pecked out by the time I went to bring them inside just a little while ago! I think it might have been the male cardinal (and probably his mate) I heard making a lot of noise outside, and I saw him going around the corner from another window in that direction,
If I didn't have so many sunflowers to harvest this year, I would be upset. As it is I'm just amused by their opportunistic behavior.
Super multi-headed one is growing small lateral flower heads from
practically EVERY leaf node.
single head has striped white seeds. The super multi-head appear to have
black seeds.
The sunflower fence row has multi-headed plants as well as single large headed plants as well, and I've tagged three of them to save seeds from.
...I left those seed heads on the patio table to dry in the sun for the afternoon. Normally I would look out over the patio from the window above several times in the afternoon, but I wasn't able to today.... And 1/2 of one of the smaller heads had been eaten and pecked out by the time I went to bring them inside just a little while ago! I think it might have been the male cardinal (and probably his mate) I heard making a lot of noise outside, and I saw him going around the corner from another window in that direction,
If I didn't have so many sunflowers to harvest this year, I would be upset. As it is I'm just amused by their opportunistic behavior.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30543
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
That crazy multi-head is growing flower buds from every node. It seems a bit strange to me.....
Maybe this was a bird-dropped seed from a wild bird food mix and it's some kind of a hybrid B.O.S.S. variety bred to make maximum amount of seeds....
alternatively, can sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cross with Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)? Jerusalem artichoke I think tries to grow flower buds like this, and my patch is located not 10 feet from the sunflowers that I thought had dropped these seeds were growing.....
Maybe this was a bird-dropped seed from a wild bird food mix and it's some kind of a hybrid B.O.S.S. variety bred to make maximum amount of seeds....
alternatively, can sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cross with Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)? Jerusalem artichoke I think tries to grow flower buds like this, and my patch is located not 10 feet from the sunflowers that I thought had dropped these seeds were growing.....
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1216
- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
- Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
BirdLover wrote:Beautiful garden! Now I want s buttonbush plant. I just looked it up and it works in my zone.
I love your sunflowers. I used to grow big ones but now I grow them small in the shade.
I have plenty of BB seeds. They are slow to germinate(2-3 weeks) and need covered with seran wrap for humidity(80 plus deg). This was my first year trying them. They are about 1' tall. I need to try and transplant them along the river bank. They need swampy soil. My river was so out of control I have not had a chance to put them in the ground. PM me if you want some seeds.
My sunflower finally bloomed. Most all got swamped. This one has 5 more blooms coming at lower branching. The only ones I planted were Velvet Queen. It looks ALOT darker than the pic.
After some searching there seems to be 2 different colors?
Can sunflowers be started inside easily? I assume they have a tap root that can be damaged when transplanting. Missy really like them and wants more next year and get them to bloom earlier.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30543
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I tried but had trouble with the taproot in small containers. Maybe if you start them in straight sided water or soda bottles? But spindly growth, and high rate of mortality after planting in my experience.
My solution for the last couple of years has been to pre-germinate them in a seed sprouter (very quick, about 4-5 days) then sow the seeds when just the root tip is showing (up to curled 1/2" at most). Nice thing about doing it this way is that they ALL come up where planted. Still have to deal with slugs, etc. loss, but much more predictable.
My solution for the last couple of years has been to pre-germinate them in a seed sprouter (very quick, about 4-5 days) then sow the seeds when just the root tip is showing (up to curled 1/2" at most). Nice thing about doing it this way is that they ALL come up where planted. Still have to deal with slugs, etc. loss, but much more predictable.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30543
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
2016 sunflowers are blooming!
I didn't plant any intentionally this year because I was going to rotate them out. But squirrels and chipmunks had other ideas and I had volunteers popping up. So I relented and let some of them grow. They ARE fun to grow just to watch the flowerbuds follow the sun during the day while they are green, the size some of them can grow to...
... and the way they unfold facing the direction the first sunshine hits them in the morning ...
^^^^
This has been a source of consternation, puzzlement, and confoundment for me when I first started growing them as I mentioned before.
Here's the one that flowered in the Sunflower & House this year. It is basically facing the house even though with the direction the sun rises, it should have been facing more to our left. I thought the reason was because all morning as the sun travels and casts tree shadows where the sunflower is located, the sun reflects off the upstairs windows INTO the SF&H. This explains the way it is looking up towards the upstairs window.
But I realized there is ANOTHER reason. I have a heavy duty photographer's daylight CFL bulb atop a torchere floor lamp that I have been using in the Green Room. It's on a timer and I had been adjusting it to turn on at sunrise until around Summer Solstice when most of the plants in the Green Room were taken out. But NOW that the sun is rising later and later, that lamp turns on BEFORE sunrise. And I realized when I was looking out of the window in the pre-dawn dimness that the lamp had turned on and was lighting up the backyard through the uncovered upper windowpanes, including the SF&H. NO wonder the poor sunflower became confused.
---
THIS ONE now. It's is definitely NOT looking at the house. It is NOT looking eastward toward sunrise. It is, in fact, looking directly Southeast, which in summertime, is WAY past dawn.... BUT you can see by the way it is looking up at the trees -- the gap in the trees where it sees the first sunlight of the day
I didn't plant any intentionally this year because I was going to rotate them out. But squirrels and chipmunks had other ideas and I had volunteers popping up. So I relented and let some of them grow. They ARE fun to grow just to watch the flowerbuds follow the sun during the day while they are green, the size some of them can grow to...
... and the way they unfold facing the direction the first sunshine hits them in the morning ...
^^^^
This has been a source of consternation, puzzlement, and confoundment for me when I first started growing them as I mentioned before.
Here's the one that flowered in the Sunflower & House this year. It is basically facing the house even though with the direction the sun rises, it should have been facing more to our left. I thought the reason was because all morning as the sun travels and casts tree shadows where the sunflower is located, the sun reflects off the upstairs windows INTO the SF&H. This explains the way it is looking up towards the upstairs window.
But I realized there is ANOTHER reason. I have a heavy duty photographer's daylight CFL bulb atop a torchere floor lamp that I have been using in the Green Room. It's on a timer and I had been adjusting it to turn on at sunrise until around Summer Solstice when most of the plants in the Green Room were taken out. But NOW that the sun is rising later and later, that lamp turns on BEFORE sunrise. And I realized when I was looking out of the window in the pre-dawn dimness that the lamp had turned on and was lighting up the backyard through the uncovered upper windowpanes, including the SF&H. NO wonder the poor sunflower became confused.
---
THIS ONE now. It's is definitely NOT looking at the house. It is NOT looking eastward toward sunrise. It is, in fact, looking directly Southeast, which in summertime, is WAY past dawn.... BUT you can see by the way it is looking up at the trees -- the gap in the trees where it sees the first sunlight of the day
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1030
- Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:12 pm
- Location: central Ohio
I had plans of planting a sunflower patch this summer. Like so many other plans they didn't get put into place. At least I have your lovely pictures to enjoy.
I have a small patch of perennial sunflowers that are now blooming. I though I had dug them all up (gave some away, sold some for some decent $$$) and am really glad to have these few still. The flowers are not very big and they don't produce very many seeds but they are all I have this year.
I have a small patch of perennial sunflowers that are now blooming. I though I had dug them all up (gave some away, sold some for some decent $$$) and am really glad to have these few still. The flowers are not very big and they don't produce very many seeds but they are all I have this year.
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1216
- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
- Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1216
- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
- Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1216
- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
- Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State