Sunflower care

[Loonytoonie]

My DD has been given a small pot with a sunflower seed in it from school. Apparently, it's a competition to see who can grow the tallest sunflower. I know nothing about sunflower care, apart from some basics, so I've been carefully watering it and making sure it has a sunny position on my windowsill.

It's now about 6 inches high, still in it's little pot, still in the same position on the windowsill. What should I be doing with it now? It seems to early to plant it out and the one's I've tried in past years have been scoffed by some rogue insect . The thing is, it's shot up so quickly, it's starting to lean and look too spindly. Help!

[gillybean2]

Put it in a bigger pot and use a small cane or chopstick to keep it upright. Don't overfeed it as it will bolt and it needs sone strength first.

You will have to support it as it grows. So you should be looking for somethign now. If it's an average sunflower it will probably just need a cane. But if it's one of the monster kind you will need something much more sturdy.

Also don't knot string around it. Make a figure of eight knot so as the stem expands the string can stretch rathe rthan dig in.

And don't put it out yet, not warm (might get a frost overnight) and it will be munched if it hasn't got sufficient height/prickly bits on it's stem.

Good luck!

[Donki]

I would plant it out, but with protection. An empty, clear, 2 or 3 litre fizzy drink bottle with the bottom cut off makes a good mini green house - on hot days you can remove the lid to make sure the sunflower doesn't cook. The rabid munchers are probably slugs or snails. Pushing the bottle into the soil will help to exclude them, and stop the bottle being blown over too easily (and snapping off your sunflower!). If slugs/snails are a problem you can get ferrous sulphate pellets to kill them. They are relatively safe for other animals, unlike metaldehyde pellets.

Remember that the sunflower will still need watering - the heat in the mini greenhouse will dry out the soil more rapidly (especially with the lid off), and rain cannot get directly to the base of the plant.

[thisisyesterday]

i would plant it out.
sunflowers need a LOT of room for roots if they are going to grow big and strong.
feed with a nice plant food, or add some slow release fertiliser when you plant it into the ground