Rough Draft 1.0 9 /18/2020
Intro
A big beautiful yellow flower that packs a snack, what a miracle mammoth sunflowers can be. Did you know that sunflower seeds are technically defined as the fruits of the sunflower plant? We will explore the Mother of all sunflowers in this article.
Mammoth Sunflowers are an Annual
Annual plants mean they need to be planted or replanted from seed or a seedling start each spring or growing season. Some quick facts about mammoth annual sunflowers…
- They can have either large or small seed heads
- Annual sunflowers will bloom the first year after being planted from seeds
- Annual sunflowers just have the typical yet shallow string like roots.
- Annual sunflowers will germinate and grow rapidly
- Annual sunflowers tend to grow from a single stems spaced out from each other
How to Grow Mammoth Sunflowers
Considered the giant of garden sunflowers. This heirloom plant grows up to 12-feet tall and features huge 12-inch wide blooms with abundant seeds. These are also known to be easy to grow
Sun, Watering and Soil
- Sunflowers grow their best in locations where full sun shines
- Well drained soil is important. Before planting prepare the soil where sunflowers will be planted. The Ideal measurements are 3’ in circumference and a depth of about 2 ‘
- Keep your soil soaked while germinating sunflower seeds,.
- Growing sunflowers only require an inch of water per week during the growing season.
- Use a watering nozzle or drip hose to easily moisten the soil around the stem, once a week until the top 6 inches of soil is moist.
Adding Sunflowers to your Garden
Keep in Mind…
- The Height of the Mature Sunflower can reach up to around 12 feet tall.
- Sunflower seed shells do contain a substance that is toxic to grass. However if you harvest or cut your sunflowers when the seeds are matured and still intact you’ll be fine
We have planted ours in a soil filled flower bed right in front of our house where we receive a lot of sun during the summer months.
- Sunflowers can also help you to attract local and unusually seen birds to your garden
One morning when I looked out our window at our sunflowers growing I saw a little yellow bird, sitting on one of the large leaves. Beautiful, I sight I’ll always remember.
Harvesting the Seeds
Signs the sunflower is ready for harvest
- The seeds are plump, developed and black and white striped.
- The yellow flower petals have dried and fallen off.
- The back of the sunflower has turned from green to brown or yellow.
- The foliage has turned yellow.
It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your sunflowers once they are approaching harvest because birds love sunflower seeds too.
Harvesting to Plant Again
Bring sunshine indoors by picking and enjoying your sunflowers in a vase. Once removed allow the seeds to dry for several hours or overnight before storing. What I’ve done is picked just the petal less heads off of the stem and placed them on a shelve a week or so. I do this to just to make sure they are super dry to store or snack on.
I’ve tried this for two years and it really works! When saving the seeds to re-plant, store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place until you are ready to plant. I keep my seeds in a freezer zip lock bag and placed them in my pantry until I bought a Rubbermaid container just to store all of my seeds. Label the container with the variety and the date you harvested. The seeds will last for many years if stored this way.
Not only are sunflowers eye catching and beautiful with large bright yellow petals to dress the sunflower seeds. Each sunflower head holds around 2000 seeds which can make the flowers top heavy and droop as they mature. It normal to see a droopy sunflower head while the seeds are maturing. To keep the stems upright sunflowers will need to be tied to a stake, gently with a piece of string or small zip ties. Planting sunflowers next to a tall fence, tree or trellis can give the sunflowers the support they need by leaning or being tied to a structure.
Also, to note the sunflower seeds are packed full of nutrients for good health. They contain antioxidants and anti-cancer properties. They also contain several vitamins and minerals which can help reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Great reasons to plant a patch of sunflowers right outside your front door.
Resource Links
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sunflower-seeds
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sunflower/growing-sunflowers-in-your-garden.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sunflower/planting-sunflowers.htm