Overview:

Sunflowers are an American classic, they are easily recognized for their bright cheerful colors. They come in lots of different colors now and are easy to start from seed. They are native to North America and are commonly found growing wild in parts of Arizona.

Starting seeds:

Sunflowers are easy to start from seed directly in the garden or started inside.

Transplanting: I plant them 1/2” deep in cell packs. When starting seeds inside I use regular potting soil. Sunflowers do not need seed starting mix I’ve found. They are usually ready to transplant within 10-14 days. I space them out every 4-6”, closely planted sunflowers will stay on the smaller side. I’ve also found that transplanting sunflowers can ‘stunt’ their growth. This usually makes for smaller heads as well. Smaller heads are sometimes seen as good in the floral trade. They become easier to work into arrangments without being attention hogs.

Direct seeding: I use a garden knife to dig a 1/2” deep trench alongside my drip tape. I plant my seeds every 3” knowing that there will be some casualties from bugs and birds. Once I’m down covering up the seeds and giving it good water I place a shade cloth over the ground I sowed until the seeds have germinated. This helps retain moisture and protects against bird damage. I you have a lot of bird pressure, I recommend using netting or upside down mesh trashcan over your seedlings until they have 2 sets of true leaves.

Mother’s Day Note: Yes you can have sunflowers for Mother’s Day! To make sure I have them on this special day, I start 3 successions inside. Dates are subjective but around these days: Feb 22, March 1st, and March 8th. This gives flexibility with weather, and the date of Mother’s Day to change from year to year. Yes, you can keep succession planting but I beef up my production on these successions for this holiday.

When to plant outdoors:

March -September

Spacing:

6” single varieties - plant closer together for smaller blooms

9-12” multi-headed varieties

Sun:

Full sun 6-8+ hours

Pinching:

No, I do not pinch sunflowers. Especially single-cut varieties.

Flower Support:

Not needed

Fertilizing:

Typically sunflowers do not need a lot of fertilizer. I’ve found that fertilizing early succession when it’s still cold, gives them a little bit of a boost. I use Neptunes Harvest or Maxsea fertilizer every 2-3 weeks for sunflowers.

Typical Harvest time:

May-November

Succession plant?

Yes! You can go crazy planting successions if you want them all year. I’ve seen people harvest sunflowers into December. You can plant them every week from March Through October. Because Sunflowers have such a long growing season, I like to curate specific varieties for their seasons.

I only grow Procuts for cut sunflowers, they are a pollen-free variety and will not shed post-harvest.

Spring: Sow March-May

Procut Lemon

Procut Gold

Procut White lite

Summer: Sow May-July

Procut gold lite

Procut Peach

Procut Plum

Fall: sow July-Oct

Procut Red

Procut Bicolor

Procut White Nite

Moulin rouge - Multi-headed

Post Harvest:

Harvest when sunflower petals are just barely showing/ cracking. Harvesting before the flower is completely blown open will lead to a superior vase life. Store flowers in the cooler post-harvest.

Perfect examples of the optimal time to pick. Just when you start to see color. This will greatly extend the vase life of your sunflower after picking.

Vase life:

7-10 days

Seed Sourcing:

Shop JPA’s Seeds for the best varieties.