Sunflowers are perfect garden
plants and great for use as cut
flowers.
2015 is The Year of The Sunflower
Year of the Sunflower
Infuse your garden with
some fabulous summer
sunshine this season. Plant
sunflowers for stunning,
long lasting blooms and
much more.
Summer Sensations
Sunflowers are the perfect
garden plant: easy to
grow and with masses of
magnificent flowers that
last for weeks on end. Their
often huge and always
sunny faces appeal to all
ages, but there is far more
to these spectacular plants
than meets the eye.
These summer beauties
are great as cut flowers,
a magnet for pollinating
insects and also help
feed the birds too. Not
all sunflowers are garden
giants; many are compact
and ideal for smaller
gardens and for growing
in containers. There’s a
wonderful range of colours
too, not just yellow, so ring
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SUNFLOWERSPECIAL
the changes and grow sunflowers with
red, orange or even white flowers for a
dramatic garden statement.
All About Sunflowers
• Most sunflowers originate from the
Americas.
• The most common types are called
annuals as they grow, flower and set
seed in the same year.
• The young, developing flowers actual
ly track the daily movement of the sun
(called heliotropism) so that the
immature flowers face the sun, hence
the name sunflower.
• As the flowers mature, their ability to
follow the sun reduces and they tend to
face the east to greet the morning sun.
• Sunflowers are great plants for gardens
but they are also a valuable crop plant.
The seeds are processed to produce sun
flower oil or harvested for the food and
wild bird industry.
• Sunflowers can be orange, pink, red,
burgundy and even white in colour
Varieties
There are dozens of different varieties
of sunflowers you can grow and several
different types too. 2015 is the Year of the
Sunflower, so look out for special
sunflower plants and promotions at a
garden centre near you.
• If it’s giant plants with dinner plate sized
flowers that you want then choose ‘Mon
golian Giant’, ‘Giraffe’, ‘American Giant’
or ‘Russian Giant’ which can all reach
over 3m (about 10ft) tall.
• For multi-stemmed plants with
dramaticrich yellow flowers choose
‘Prado Yellow’, ‘Choco Sun’ and ‘Hallo’.
• For pots and containers opt for
multiflowered and dwarf varieties with
numerous mini-sunflowers such as
‘Waooh!’ ‘Music Box’, ‘Little Dorrit’ and
‘F1 Suntastic Yellow’
• Red flowered sunflowers have an exotic
look. Choose varieties such as ‘Velvet
Queen’, ‘Ruby Sunset’ and ‘Prado Red’.
• White sunflowers with chocolate brown
centres are great for flower arranging.
‘Italian White’ and ‘Moonlight’ are a
good choice. ‘Moonwalker’ is a good,
creamy white alternative.
• Perennial sunflower plants last for
several years and regrow every spring,
flowering into late summer. Choose
‘Lemon Queen’ a prolific flowerer with
a reputation for spreading, but a great
back of border plant.
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Decoration
“The wide range
of varieties is ideal”
For dramatic cut flowers that will last around
two weeks, grow fabulous sunflowers. Van
Gogh knew what he was doing when he
painted his vase of these glowing beauties.
These days you can even choose to grow
varieties free of pollen. Perfect for the flower
arranger and hayfever sufferers and still rich
in nectar for our friends the bees. Varieties
with low or no pollen include ‘Prado Yellow’
and ‘Prado Red’ and ‘Sunrich Orange’.
Insects and Birds
Sunflowers need insects to pollinate their flamboyant
flowers. That’s why their bright yellow petals resemble flags
and are so prominent in the garden. It’s a visual message to
butterflies and bees, inviting them to a rich banquet of pollen
and nectar. In return the unsuspecting insects transfer pollen
from flower to flower to facilitate pollination. It’s a marriage
made in heaven and the result is a bountiful supply of
sunflower seeds. In the garden, these seeds are vital and very
nourishing food for wild birds, in agriculture they are revered
for their nutritional content and transformed into foodstuffs.
Even pollen free varieties will usually set seed.
Create A Living
Boundary
Take advantage of the tall and
strong habit of sunflowers and
use them as a natural boundary
to separate part of your garden
or to disguise a fence.
Ideal for Pots
Grow dwarf sunflower plants
in containers. These branching
varieties have several smaller,
mini-sunflower flower heads
step by step
on shorter stems, with just as
much impact as the taller, giant
alternatives.
Easy to Grow
Easy to grow, sunflowers are
often flagged as a great plant
for children, but that really
means beginners can grow
them too. If you want lots of
plants, grow from seed for the
best value for money, or for just
a few, buy the plants from your
local garden centre or nursery.
1 Fill a pot with compost
and make two or three
holes about 2-3 cm deep.
2 Drop two seeds into
each hole.
3 Cover with compost and
water gently.
Sunflowers are easy to
grow from seed.
Sow from March indoors
protected from frost,
or after the last frost
sow outside. Sow dwarf
varieties into large pots of
multi-purpose compost.
Keep slightly moist. Remove
the weakest seedling from
each hole to allow the
stronger one to mature.
Summer Feelings
Fun for Kids
Children love the friendly faces of sunflowers.
The plants are a great way to get them
growing and to introduce them to nature.
Plant a seed and watch it grow, or buy a
plant and nurture it to flower and set seed.
Host a giant sunflower competition or
change the rules and award the prize for
the most flowers on one plant. Look out for
Sunflower ‘Teddy Bear’ with fluffy yellow
flowers on dwarf plants.
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