Sunflowers wilting...

Hello All,

N.B. please see update below with further questions!!

This is my first post on the forum, so hello to one and all!

I have a question regarding growing sunflowers.

I have sewn seeds in pots indoors, and for the first two weeks or so all was well, but while some of them seem to be thriving, two others look most unhappy...

The happy ones are in the sitting room, the unhappy ones in the kitchen, where perhaps its a little colder.

I have posted pictures - can anyone advise why this is or what I should do?

Thanks in advance,

John

 

They are not getting enough light, so growing leggy and falling over.
They need to be slowly cooled down and got used to more light, probably on a window sill.

 

I see. Thanks for your reply. The trouble is, I don't have a windowsill, just a table by the window...

 

Welcome John. Can you gently lift them out the pots and plant them deeper in perhaps some coffee cups from KFC/McDonalds, these are deep cups which I use to plant my Runner beans when the time is right.

 

Or you could get some plastic paint glasses/cups from Poundland or similar. In ours you get 20 for £1. As @john558 said I put all my beans/sweet oars etc into these.

 

Hi, and thanks.

So you’re saying my pots are too small? That’s easily changed!

And should I put more soil over the existing soil?

Thank you,

 

Hi John, Not saying that, just perhaps smaller deeper pots.
I have Tomatoes & Cucumber in a growhouse & they are a little leggy, will plant when ready in a deeper pot later. In fact I will plant them almost up to the leaves.

 

They need to be planted in deep pots with compost right up to the leaves ASAP.

 

Can I just say its a bit too early to sow if you dont have a place for them.
You could easily sow some more in a month that will be able to go outside much sooner after they germinate than these will.
As a result you get stronger plants.

 

Thanks everyone for all your replies. I think the suggestion to try again in a month sounds like a sensible one.

In the mean time I shall move these into deeper pots and see what happens.

Thanks again,

John

 

Good morning All,

So, re: the above, I abandoned my previous sun flower attempts due to extreme leggyness, and have started again in warmer weather and more sunshine.

I have two sorts of sunflower - the single bloom and a multi-bloom, and I have a question about the latter:

If you look at the photo below you'll see some withering to one of its leaves. Should I be concerned about this? I water lightly around once a day. They spend the morning on my window sill, and in the afternoon when the sun moves round I put them on a table in the garden in full sunlight. Is it still too chilly for them?

Secondly, do the others look healthy to you?

Many thanks indeed in advance!

John

 

Personally I think you can put them outside now, just as long as the weather is not too bad.
If frost is threatened then bring them in but it has warmed up now.

 

Thank you Pete.

Something for me to do at the weekend!

Fingers crossed the slugs and snails don't take a liking to them!

John