Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Sunflower help please!

6 replies

Hoplikeabunny · 31/08/2015 15:19

My DS grew a sunflower at nursery that we then planted in our garden and it has grown to just over 10ft Smile DS loves it and I want to harvest the seeds, but I'm not sure when?! The sunflower has completely drooped over now, and the floret things brush away really easily, revealing the seeds underneath, but they are still white, which is confusing me as sunflower seeds are usually black/grey aren't they? They are massive and really plump, so do I leave them even though the plant is dying, or do I harvest them now? Will they change colour?

Thanks in advance, my gardening knowledge is severely limited, and google isn't my friend today!

OP posts:
iwantgin · 31/08/2015 15:38

i can ask DH when he gets in.

We have just spent this weekend lopping off the heads and pullilng up the roots of the sunflowers.

I don't THINK the seeds are necessarily black, perhaps they go that colour when dried?

But, I am no gardener.

DH has just put a few of the heads in a box, along with some sweet pea pods (a few weeks ago) and some other bulbs he found. To all be sorted out when more time available.

Singsongsung · 31/08/2015 15:39

Can I pop in here and ask a related question? Our sunflowers have grown tall but we've got no flowers! Is it too late now to hope they will appear?

summerwinterton · 31/08/2015 15:40

you can chop the head off and just leave it to dry out then collect the seeds for next year.

Are there any buds Singsong?

Singsongsung · 31/08/2015 15:45

Er not sure! There's what looks like more green leaves sprouting in the middle...

Ferguson · 31/08/2015 19:18

OP - I would suggest harvesting SOME of the seed now, and leave some on the plant to go on maturing and maybe ripening. If left too long though, and it gets wet, they may deteriorate.

Store the seed in PAPER bags, not plastic, so they can 'breathe'.

hiccupgirl · 06/09/2015 17:30

I have 4 sunflower plants, all of which were supposed to be giant plants.

1 is about 6 foot tall and the flower opened last week. I'm living in hope of a warm September so it might manage some seeds...maybe.
2 is about 5 foot tall and the flower is just opening now.
3 and 4 are 3 foot tall and the buds are growing into flowers.

Is it too late to hope for seeds to be produced and it ripen now?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread