sunflowers

[YORKSHIRELASS]

Hi everyone, have grown sunflowers this year along the side of the house which gets limited sun. they were planted in a narrow strip of earth next to a long row of laylandi trees apox 8 foot high. Not sure of the variety but the packet had said up to 6 foot. the blighters grew and grew and grew, higher than the canes I'd put in , higher than the hedge and then some till some were up to 10 foot high. As soon as the flowers formed the weight, combined with recent rainstorms just toppled them. I really wasn't bothered about size and didn't feed them with anything at all
any Ideas why they grew so big or sugestions for next year?

[nick the grief]

Bigger canes Lol!!

It maybe the variety os it maybe a quirk of where you planted them Yorklass. Next year get some roofing laths from a builters merchant about 10ft long & know 2ft in the ground. that should hold them up!

If you still have the seed heads you could put them somewhere dry & sunny & save some of the seed for next year. Make sure it is completley dry & pop it in a jar & keep it in the door of the fridge. The rest of the heads you can hang out on a brd table & the Greenfinches will make short worrk of them.

[Slug]

One of my sunflowers has grown to about 10 ft and is still going I'll have to watch out for the heavy flower head and try to tie as much of it as I can to my trellis. It's already hit the top of the trellis and there's nowhere else for it to grow with support!!

[YORKSHIRELASS]

Am heart broken . spent ages looking after them, tying in, untying and re tying as stalk grew so wide and for nothing
have got pictures of my kids next to one though the day before that one took its last bow

[JennieAtkinson]

This is my second year of growing a dwarf sunflower and as last year, the things are appallingly small. No sign of any flowers yet. Even though they are dwarf they are still supposed to be 18" high - just about made 3" so far!

[Marge]

Hi, this is my first post (only read two issues of the mag and love it!), just thought I'd pop in and put my oar in about sunflowers...

Anyway, one little sunflower has taken in my front, north facing border (how it got there I don't know!), and so far has yet to produce a flower head - stranger things have happened.

[JennieAtkinson]

Hello Marge - welcome to the Grapevine. I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as the magazine!

[Alice]

Hello Marge and welcome to the Vine. A liitle bird probably delivered your Sunflower to you. Lots of sunflower seeds in bird food , and some things only seem to do well after they have passed through a bird. Notably Brambles! I'm sure lots of grapes will testify to that.

[Grandpadragon]

I can confirm what Alice says about birds! We get all sorts of weird and wonderfull plants from seeds that get scattered from our bird table not just sunflowers.

[Marge]

Wow, even in this colder weather the sunflower has finally started forming a flower head. Perhaps I'll get a nice yellow flower in September?