A message to all from my sunflowers

[K8-EEE]

OMG just got the first sighting new sunflowers today. SOOOO EXCITING!

Here's a pic of my last year's sunflowers to remind everybody, summer is right around the corner....GET PLANTING!

[Raven]

1. I want to do that this year! They are beautiful. Are there any tricks

to growing sunflowers?

[K8-EEE]

2. They're super easy!!

Actually mine come back in the same spot year after year....sometimes I add new varieties (for some reason last year the red ones didn't show up love the red ones.)

When I started all I did was rough up the soil a bit -- most ordinary soil is great for them, then you sort of poke the seeds in and keep them watered until they com up. I put strawberry baskets (like the green baskets the strawberries come in from the store?) over the very young sprouts cuz the blue jays love them; just until they crowd the basket.)

After that they are on their own! In the very very hot summer days I do water them daily (we have very hot dry summers here in the SF Valley!) but in the spring I let them dry out between waterings.

I like the giant, multi-branch varieties, they really pop. You can cut one branch off and fill a whole vase, they don't last all that long as cut flowers but they sure punch up a bbq!

[Lisa0825]

3. Very pretty!!!

:loveya:

[flying_wahini]

4. do they need lots of sun?????

still have some packets I didn't plant..