Quick question for a gardener about sunflowers ...

[XAusted]

I've acquired 2 sunflower seedlings (one for each child). Can they be planted out in the garden yet? And can they be put in a big pot to grow? I am a serial plant killer. Any tips on how not to kill them?

we planted them in the garden around this time last year and they were fine and grew very tall until the giant slugs ate them

Yeah - watch out for the slugs

No problem outside - sunflowers are hardy. Make sure if you're going to use pots that they're heavy pots and/or that you weight them, as tall sunflowers in wind could end up toppling them over. You'll probably need to feed them (give them fertiliser) too if you grow them in a pot, and water them more often than if you put them in the garden directly. Put a layer of small stones in the bottom of your pot which will help to ensure that they don't get too damp though (too much water is as bad as not enough). Oh and put them in the sunshine rather than in the shade and you'll get a stronger plant.

That makes it all sound complicated - which it isn't really

We got sunflower seeds given XAusted and I dutifully planted them with DS and now I've got 11 seedlings! They've been outside from when we planted them 2/3 weeks ago and are doing fine. Guess I (sorry we) need to pot them on now.

Thanks for the advice. That's what I like about Mumsnet - Mumsnetters know everything! Not sure I can cope with the responsibility of bringing up flowers as well as kids.

GillW - are you married to Alan Titchmarsh

Sorry Crystaltips - afraid not. But I did used to work for a while for one the the big mail-order seed companies (on the computer side - nothing to do with the gardening!) and you can't live in that environment without absorbing at least the theory of it. I only know about sunflowers because they're about the easiest thing there is to grow - things which you just put the seeds where you want them to flower and don't have to worry about frost are about my limit when it comes to practical gardening