Stunning Sunnies

18 Jul, 2024

I was so excited to sow sunflowers, and even more excited to see them bloom! Now I'm excited to share with you how they look now.

Stunning sunnies

They are beautiful. I'm so delighted with the outcome. Of course, with gardening, you have an idea of what should be, but when that happens and you see it, it's real - it's just a different experience than you can imagine.

Looking at them brings me a lot of joy.

And the bees love them! I'm happy to be providing a food source for these cute and critical creatures. 🐝

Fun fact: According to Wikipedia, "It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on pollination by insects, birds and bats, most of which is accomplished by bees, whether wild or domesticated."

Just look at the colors! So bright and happy.

These tall sunflowers are the Lemon Queens.

And here are the Elves Blend (dwarf variety) sunflowers!

So cute.

And neat how the flowers are a blend of different colors and shapes.

Notes

It's amazing that all this grew from little seeds sowed only three months ago. I'll now share some things I learned and observed in the growing process.

To see their full sowing story, check out my April Gardening Update.

First, I was pretty hands-off. I watered occasionally but didn't do any fertilizing. Once I realized they were growing fast, I kinda of just let them do their thing. Not sure if this was the best decision, as you can see some of the leaves are brown at the edges. This could be a nutrient deficiency or salt damage from coastal winds. Whatever it is, it didn't seem to interfere with flowers blooming, but is something to note.

Also, not all the sunflowers I sowed made it, which is normal, but all the ones that didn't make it were in the same section - across the steps from the ones you see in this post. I would think very similar conditions, but for some reason, all the ones in the Stairway Slope did grow, but not those near the Poppy and Tomato.

I would say that using plastic cups to cover them while they were sprouting was important. The cups acted like mini-greenhouses, protecting them from hungry bugs and keeping them warm. Of the ones that didn't make it, only one had a greenhouse cup. Some of them, including the ones that grew up big and strong, had bugs eating the leaves when they were little. I think the cups helped them grow to a point where a few nibbles didn't affect their growth.

Also noteworthy: one of the big Lemon Queens that did so well was sowed in a cup and transplanted to the ground. Resources I've read recommend that you sow sunflowers directly into the ground because they don't like their roots disturbed. I think this shows that it's possible to transplant them successfully.

The transplanted Lemon Queen then