Growing Sunflowers

[greenthumbnails]

I am trying to grow sunflowers.  I bought a pack of gigantic sunflower seeds and was able to grow seedlings within days of planting.  Problem I am having is that they keep disappearing mysteriously!  I've ruled out squirrels as I planted a batch in the enclosed patio and a batch outside.  Sometimes the seedlings look like something is eating the whole seedling off and sometimes it looks like it is mysteriously wilting from the top down.  Any ideas? 

[miguynmkoi]

I plant my seeds directly in the ground and have also seen what you described.  I don't know the the technical terms but it could be a fungus or bacterial rot wilting the seedlings.  Maybe an insect, like a grasshopper, is eating the others.

Our sunflower season is almost over here and I have collected and roasted my seeds (and almost finished them, yum!).  Is your season going to be warm and sunny enough to support sunflower growth?

[greenthumbnails]

I plant my seeds directly in the ground and have also seen what you described.  I don't know the the technical terms but it could be a fungus or bacterial rot wilting the seedlings.  Maybe an insect, like a grasshopper, is eating the others.

Our sunflower season is almost over here and I have collected and roasted my seeds (and almost finished them, yum!).  Is your season going to be warm and sunny enough to support sunflower growth?

Not sure, I think the packet said to plant in the fall or spring.  How long do your plants take to reach maximum height? I think we will be warm until November in Florida (at least I don't remember feeling like I am cold until around Nov/Dec.  Although sometimes it can be unusually sunny and warm even in November!) 

Did you do anything special to stop this from happening when you saw it in your plants? 

[Sunbeam56]

Hey there - we grow LOTS of sunflowers. The birdies like them, and I like to look at them. I rarely go to the trouble to harvest them.

1) Wrong potting medium. The coarse bark doesn't hold water or roots well for the seedling. The hair like roots can't penetrate the bark. Try something with some sand. Top soil is good enough if you add a little vermiculite (so it doesn't pack up).

2) The stems on your seedlings are too long - that means that they aren't getting enough sun. Put them where they get direct light.

3) The photo of the wilted one shows the plant has consumed the cotyledon without sprouting new leaves - this is because it doesn't have sufficient successful root growth to support leaf growth - so you need a different soil, light, water, and may a mild fertilizer. I"m a big user of Miracle gro - for seedlings dilute it 1:2, so its even milder, and you can water more often in porous potting medium.

[miguynmkoi]

Savannah is correct about the legginess (is that a word) of the seedlings is due to insufficient sunlight.  After the harvest of sunflowers seeds in September I have never seen a seed sprout or survive.  But that's in my area.

I'll make note of what Sav said about the fertilizing and soil conditions.    I love sunflowers!

[Sandye]

I don't even have to plant them.  They come up all over my yard from the leftover birdseed from feeding the birds during the winter.  I had to laugh one year because I let one of the plants grow and then it grew into a seven foot tall sunflower with just one or two little flowers on the top (I was expecting a BIG bloom).  It did eventually sprout a lot more flowers on the top and turned into a pretty plant.   

[greenthumbnails]

Thanks! So that is what I am doing incorrectly.  I will make changes as suggested.  That solves the wilting problem...now if only I could figure out what was munching on them.  I tried cayenne pepper around the soil, can't say that its working though. 

[miguynmkoi]

Who's munching on the leaves?  Possibly caterpillars or grasshoppers?  I know I find holes in my leaves or edges cut bite size.  This only happens on the young plants here.

[Joyce]

Cutworm probably. 
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/cutworms.html
Very common for them to cut the plant off at ground level.

And I agree with everything Savannah suggested. 
Those seedling need a full sun, which means a whole day of sun, and MUCH bigger pots of soil.
(more soil=more nutrients, stronger, faster growing plant)