Sunflowers

Ive grown some sunflowers from seed and they acre currently about 8cm high.

i have just potted them from the seed tray into individual pots.

they are currently in my small potting shed

when should i plant them outside?

 

I would wait until they are bigger, at least 1 foot, otherwise they will just be slug fodder.

 

thank you punkdoc, i get quite attached to my seed babies!

 

Sunflowers do best sown directly now in England. ( Self sown is better still !) They need plenty of nitrogen within a balanced analysis (10-10-10) at a rate of 60grams /sq metre.

 

Not here they don’t, just get eaten. Much better started in pots and planted when strong plants.

 

I gave up on sunflowers. Too many are just eaten by snails and slugs.

 

What are "seed babies"? Seedlings, young plants I recognise, but "seed babies" are they a shaved version of "fur babies"?

 

I have got plenty of seeds (big cheap pack from Premier Seeds Direct) so I have done both; a number outside, and more in pots. Last year I sowed quite a few in pots but ended up with only two survivors. They are multi-headed ones though so I got masses of blooms.

 

Direct sowing is virtually impossible here, unless it's into the gravel I have, in bits where there's really no soil at all. Even then, it's hit and miss and depends on the type of plant.

 

A bit off topic but I couldn't find standard sunflower seeds this year. Plenty of mini ones, multi headed, coloured but no normal ones. I wonder if it's to do with the Ukraine war as I believe that's where most come from.

 

Just use the ones in bird food.

 

I bought some different colour ones a few years ago and grew one or twin amongst the veg.
Not normal perhaps, but that's me.

Now they just self seed, and believe it or not they don't get attacked by slugs.

Maybe it's because they are well scattered, I just pull out the ones I don't want or just hoe them in.