Will mammoth sunflowers come up every year?
As others say, sunflowers are annuals from seeds that sprout, grow and flower, then die each year. Depending on it's heritage, they may not come back true from seed, as many hybrid plants get specific characteristics from each of their potentially different parents. When self-pollinated it's pot luck what genes it may carry. Eg, it may get tallnes and vigour from one parent, and colouring from another (dwarfer) parent etc. It's still worth saving the seeds to try it out, it's always fun to see the results and you may get better results than the original plants, especially if bees etc. bring pollen from other plants nearby. Sow them next spring time, potentially indoors for earlier flowers, and transplant outside when danger of frost is past. Many birds love the seeds, as they are highly nutritious, so you could also leave some on the plants outside during the winter. Hope this helps. Good luck! Rob
How do I grow a BIG sunflower?
Are they regular sunflowers, like what farmers grow? If so, full sun! It should be pretty drought and flood resistant. I would say a daily watering would be enough. In general, if a plant's leaves turn brown, they're getting too dry. If the leaves turn yellow, they're getting too much water. Keep an eye out for that. A normal sunflower will only grow one flower. If these happen to be some ornamental type and you're trying to get the biggest flower (rather than the biggest plant), pinch off any additional flowers that grow on each plant--it will put it's energy into the one single flower. Does it have to be grown in the container for the entire time? I think most plants do better when grown in the ground. Are you going to grow all 30 of your seeds? If so, experiment with something different for each plant--lots of water or little, lots of sun or shade, Miracle Gro or compost, sandy soil or clay-ish soil, etc. I would be tempted to try one in soil with lots of sunflower seeds used as fertilizer, but that's just my thought. Sounds like fun. Good luck!
Why won't the bee leave the sunflower?
I have a sunflower I planted late, it bloomed last weekend and all the bees love it because it's the only sunflower around in my neighborhood. There's a bee that's been on it since yesterday morning....the same bee stayed there all day and all night and is still there today! I thought it was dead at first 'til it moved back to the middle earlier. I thought bees were supposed to go back to their nests at night when it gets cold, but it just stiffened on the side of my flower and went to sleep last night! So why do you think it won't leave my sunflower?
My sunflowers are drooping!?
If you are referring to the head drooping, that is normal, they are starting to make seed, you will see the inside of the head, sort of shedding small petals the head droops, the coating in the the inside fall off and the seed start to form. You need to feed it through out its life, until you harvest the heads. Simple blossom booster will work well. Miracle grow makes this but there are many brands. Once all the petals fall off and the lower leaves start to brown it is time to harvest your heads. Cut them off with enough stalk to be able to hang them to dry. Once dry the will easily fall from the blossom, and you can soak in salt and bake or harvest for your birds. If you leave them on the stalk to dry with out cutting, you may loose your seeds to the wildlife. If your leafs are what is drooping, this is caused by too much water, towards the end of the season the plant requires less water, the roots are actually slowing down. Pull back on the water and allow it to dry well in between. I have these beautiful flowers all through out my garden. I am growing some to eat but most for the birds. Mine also have reached 12 feet and plus! are they just too awesome! God Bless grandma
Do sunflowers grow back their petals?
No, they don't grow their "petals" back. The flower of a sunflower is actually many individual flowers........called an inflorescence. The outer flowers on the sunflower are the ray flowers or florets and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. These flowers are sterile. The flowers that fill the circular head inside the ray flowers are called disc florets.
When to re-pot a sunflower?
You should pick the largest plant in the bunch and cut down the smaller ones (don't rip them out - just snip the plant at the base). You don't want them to grow together so close because there won't be enough nutrients in the soil, and they won't grow very well. Tying them up to a stick or something is good to do when they're young. Eventually the flower will get a thick stalk and be really sturdy. It won't lean once it's established. I've grown huge, gorgeous mammoth sunflowers in 99-cent 3-gallon pots (one in each pot). We bought new miracle-gro brand potting mix for them and kept them in full sun. You have to put a rock or something heavy in their container on top of the soil so they don't blow down and get damaged. Also, when the days are hot, check on it often. You or your son may need to water it several times a day. That's all I did with my sunflowers, and they were gorgeous! Here's also a site that explains how to grow sunflowers in containers: http://balconycontainergardening.com/index.php/plants/76-grow-care-sunflowers Good luck!
Mammoth Sunflower care - Wil Sevin dust harm the flower?
Seven dust will be fine. If you are planning on eating the seeds later, make sure you allow plenty of time to elapse after applying ANY type of insect repellant before eating them.
Red fire ants eating my sunflower leaves! No sign of aphids!?
I have three healthy fast growing mammoth sunflowers. There all these nasty little red fire ants crawling all over my sunflowers, from top to bottom. There are no visible signs of aphids. There are little holes eaten out of my leaves, and only then will parts of the leaves wilt, brown and die. Haven't seen any beatles around, just these weird black and orange bugs (like milkweed or boxelder bugs but instead of the thin lines of orange, they're just are black seperated by a thick orange stripe that goes across their wings/back. They fly too and apparently like my plants (not just sunflowers) to breed on. The thing is, there are no ants on my cantaloupe and cucumber plants (which are right next to my sunflowers) and are completely untouched and have no holes! What can I do to get rid of these nasty ants! I never had a problem until I planted them in the ground, where the dirt is very dry and lightly colored. We dug up the area, loosened the dirt and mixed in lots of miracle grow soil then planted them. There were lots of other ants "nests" there, but I only remember seeing the little black ants. I live in Connecticut if that matters any.