Growing sunflowers

[buttery81]

Is it possible to sow the seeds directly into a flower bed or should I start them off indoors first?

I planted them directly into beds last year and got nothing for my efforts. This year I started them off indoors, then moved them outside into a mini greenhouse and now I’ve just put them into bigger pots so much more success. They’re about a foot tall at the moment and we’ve got twenty this year.

By the way, I’m not green fingered and know nothing about gardening - someone with more knowledge will hopefully be along to say what you should actually do, rather than winging it like me!

Is it possible to sow the seeds directly into a flower bed

Given the unexpected appearance of sunflower plants when I used to use whole rather than shelled sunflower seed in the bird feeders, that has to be a yes. and the instructions for kids say you can

www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/gardening-children-schools/family-activities/grow-it/grow/sunflower

But apart from anything else, the seeds are likely to be eaten, and seedlings are liable to be eaten by slugs, so it's probably better to start them in a pot.

Why not do some of each?

I always just check in the ground and leave them. This was last years - it was bloody huge! Must have got to about 8 feet.

Chuck in the ground not check.

Slugs eat anything I plant in the ground when small so always start in pots.

Sunflowers don't like root disturbance, so you can always start them off in peat pots and then plant the whole pot in the ground (I would remove the bottom of the pot when you plant though).

Why are my ones dying? They are in pots, tall and watered. Hsve they outgrown the pots?

I've only had success starting in small pots, then larger pots and then into the ground.
Bloody slugs scoff the seedlings almost over night given a chance.

Last year, I planted seeds all in the ground and nothing ever happened. This year, I planted the in the greenhouse and they all grew brilliantly. I planted them in the ground last week and they have all been eaten-every leaf.

I give up!

I planted about 100 seeds late May last year and they all came up, though were very slow to germinate. Was I just lucky? Those seeds were free, now I'm slightly nervous about having to pay for them this year.,.

I planted 15 seeds in April - some into pots, some direct in the ground and a couple in my large pots with other bedding plants as a test. All the ones in small pots are doing well, as is one of the ones sharing a pot with pansies. There is no sign at all of any that were planted direct in the ground.

Of course I will still have the challenge of planting out the small pot ones and they may fail at that stage...

There's a saying associated with planting beans which may well apply also to sunflower seeds :

'one for the mouse, and one for the crow,
One to rot and one to grow'

I find starting off in pots, and then planting out under individual 'greenhouses' made of cut down plastic bottles helps resist slug attack until they are big enough.

IIRC the slugs stop eating them once the stems are quite tough.
I'm going to move mine to bigger pots this weekend and put the anti-slug grit around them.