Sunflowers are easy to grow yourself. After just a few weeks, the sunflower seed turns into a small plant and later into a large, beautiful summer flower. Tips for growing sunflowers in the garden or on the balcony.
How can I grow sunflowers successfully?
To grow sunflowers yourself, sow the seeds outdoors from April or grow them indoors from March. Make sure it is in a sunny, warm and wind-protected location. Maintain the plant around its growth through regular watering and weekly fertilizing.
Sowing sunflowers
You can sow sunflowers outdoors on the spot. However, you have to wait until the floor is no longer too cold. You should not put the seeds in the ground before the end of April.
Since birds really appreciate sunflower seeds, you should germinate the seeds beforehand and plant the sunflowers as sprouts. They are then no longer interesting for the birds.
Prefer sunflowers in the house
Sunflowers are not hardy. So that you don't have to wait too long for the first blossoms, you should plant the sunflower seeds indoors from March onwards.
To do this, put three to five seeds in small pots (€6.00 on Amazon), keep them warm and keep the soil moist. After emergence, pinch off all but one sunflower plant.
Do not plant the early sunflowers in the garden before the end of May. If you would like to care for the sunflowers in the pot, you can repot them earlier in a suitable, large planter.
Find a suitable location
Sunflowers prefer a favorable location if they are to grow and produce lots of flowers:
- As sunny as possible
- Warm
- Drained, nutritious soil
- Protected from the wind
Caring for the sunflower in the garden or pot
Sunflowers need a lot of moisture and nutrients. Therefore, provide the sunflowers you have grown yourself with water regularly. But make sure that there is no waterlogging. It would cause the roots to rot.
As a heavy feeder, you need to fertilize sunflowers once a week.
When the flowers have faded, you can harvest sunflower seeds. Either hang the flower heads to dry or let the seeds ripen on the plant until harvest.
Tips & Tricks
Growing sunflowers is a great introduction to gardening for children. Since cultivation is quite easy, the little ones quickly see success. This will teach you a lot about the structure and growth of sunflowers.