Sunflowers – (Helianthus) Plants, care and tips – Floralelle

 

The sunflower blooms all summer from the end of June to October. Its plate-sized flower heads, with a diameter of around 30 centimetres, are among the giants among the native flowering plants. Its flower heads consist of yellow ray florets and inner brown tubular flowers. When choosing a location, you should bear in mind that the sunflower always faces the sun, so that the flowers look out into the garden or to the seat and do not turn away.

Ordinary sunflowers are annual and must be replanted or sown every year. In a fixed location they usually reproduce by self-seeding. The plant also spreads quite reliably through birdseed. However, the fodder seed plants are usually lean and less attractive than garden varieties. The seeds can be brought forward from April in pots or sown directly into the bed at the end of May. Keep a distance of 30 to 50 centimetres for direct sowing, as the tender roots of the young plants do not tolerate singling well. The seedlings will appear after about 14 days. Three to four months later the plant is fully grown. Since the large flowers bend slightly in the wind, they should be given a stable bamboo stick as support in good time.

As cut flowers the large flowers are very popular for lush summer bouquets. The cut can be made as soon as the petals open. Cut the stems diagonally with a sharp knife and remove all but three leaves from under the flower. Place the plants immediately in fresh, lukewarm water, which should be changed daily, and cut the stems more often – this way the flowers will stay fresh for a long time

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Origin
Sunflowers (Helianthus) are a genus within the family of composite flowers (Asteraceae). These are annual or perennial plants with growth heights between 25 and 300 centimeters. Some types form rhizome tubers as perseverance-organs. The yellow flowers stand individually or in groups and open in summer. The home of all approximately 65 types is North America. Here in Europe, two species play a role in agriculture: the annual common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is cultivated as an oil fruit and the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) provides nutritious tubers that are eaten like potatoes or processed into schnapps. Due to their low starch content, they are also suitable for diabetics.

Appearance and growth
In addition to the annual sunflower, the various perennial sunflowers (H. decapetalus, H. giganteus, H. micocephalus) and the willow-leaved sunflower (H. salicifolius), which can reach heights of between 120 and 250 centimeters depending on the species and variety, are interesting for gardens. The diameter of the composite flowers varies greatly and can reach 30 centimeters in the annual sunflower. The leaves are mostly heart-shaped to lanceolate and opposite. Annual sunflowers usually only form a strong flower stalk, perennials grow horny or spread over rhizome tubers – especially the Jerusalem artichoke has a strong urge to spread and can become annoying over time.

Location and soil
All sunflowers love sunny places with nutrient-rich, not too heavy soils.

Utilization
Sunflowers are mostly planted in farmer gardens, but also in prairie beds with other North American prairie perennials and grasses. The annual sunflower is also often planted as a green fence. Low varieties of annual sunflower are also suitable for pots on the balcony. All sunflowers are excellent cut flowers.

In borders or along fences high varieties form a beautiful background. Sunflowers together with Zinnie, Autumn Anemone, Student Flower, Cape Basket, Girl’s Eye, Jewel Basket, Nettle, Lionmouth or Sun Hat are a great sight in any summer flower bed. Sunflowers are also excellent companions for dahlias. Their size and strong luminosity emphasise the colourful plant partners and at the same time protect the sensitive flower stems from wind damage.

The perennial sunflowers are particularly suitable as wind and sight protection. Bare walls, rubbish bins or compost heaps can be easily concealed with them. Around the terrace or the seat you can create an opaque frame with cleverly placed plants. The annual sunflower is also ideal for filling gaps in the bed. Small sunflower varieties find their place in the bed and borders in the foreground, but they also feel at home in pots. Individually standing, large specimens are a beautiful eye-catcher in the garden or on the terrace. Tip: So that sunflowers can defy wind and weather, you should use perennial holders or support the tall plants with sticks.

cutting
The best time to cut back sunflowers is in early spring close to the ground. The seeds are a pretty winter decoration and the seeds of the annual sunflower serve birds as fat and protein-rich winter food.

care
Sunflowers do not tolerate longer dry periods and should therefore be watered if necessary. So that the long stems do not bend, one supports above all high types with shrub supports. Long bamboo sticks have proven to be effective supports for tall varieties of annual sunflowers, and perennial sunflowers are divided every three to four years to keep them vital. This can be done in early spring or after flowering in autumn.

Propagation
Perennial sunflowers are multiplied by division, annual sunflowers are sown in spring. If the seeds are to be harvested, it is advisable to draw a bag of gauze over a flower so that the birds do not have access to the seeds, which are popular as fodder.

Large varieties
The medium sized variety ‘Ring of Fire’ grows about 120 centimeters high and carries red-yellow flamed petals. It forms several flowers per stem and flowers until autumn. Florenza’ (120 centimeters) has purple red flowers with cream-coloured tips. Prado Red’ is a dark red cut flower variety with a height of about 150 centimeters. Sunrich Orange’ shows orange flowers around a dark brown centre on stems about 170 centimeters high. It is well suited as a cut flower.

Most perennial sunflowers also reach heights of up to 170 centimeters. Varieties such as ‘Monarch’, ‘Lemon Queen’ or ‘Soleil d’Or’ are long-lived, tall shrubs for warm, nutrient-rich locations. Their characteristics are the many, clearly smaller flowers and the bushy growth. The sunflower ‘Maximiliani’ reaches a stately size of up to 250 centimeters. Their 8 centimeter large flowers crowd closely together. Among the sunflower giants are the ‘Titan’ and ‘King Kong’ varieties, which grow up to four metres tall and have correspondingly large flowers.

Small varieties
Since the large sunflowers are too large for many gardens as ornamental plants, knee-high dwarf varieties are increasingly being cultivated. These can now be used in the bed design quite differently than one is used to it from sunflowers up to now. Varieties such as ‘Sunspot’ (yellow) or ‘Double Dandy’ (semi-double, red) are more stable than the meter-high sunflower varieties and are suitable for borders, tubs and even balcony boxes. The lemon yellow ‘Pacino Lemon’ flowers only eight weeks after sowing, ‘Irish Eyes’ shows yellow flowers with a green centre and some small varieties with lush foliage, such as ‘Big Smile’, look like low hedge plants or perennials planted side by side. The fluffy filled flowers of the dwarf sunflowers ‘Teddy Bear’ and ‘Yellow Peck’ present themselves particularly opulently. Attention: Since the plants are inhibited in their growth by an artificial hormone treatment and remain so small-growing, the seeds of the low varieties are not suitable for consumption!

Pollen free breeds
As with most composite flowers, the actual nectar-filled tubular flowers of the sunflower are located in the centre of the flower head. The conspicuous yellow or red circle of ray florets on the outside serves only to attract pollinating insects, especially bees and bumble bees.

New varieties, such as ‘Mezzulah’, ‘Double Dandy’, ‘Sunrich Orange’ or ‘Full Sun’ are now increasingly coming onto the market pollen-free because the lack of pollen prolongs the flowering time of the plants and makes them even more attractive as cut flowers. This makes the plants particularly suitable for allergy sufferers. According to the manufacturer, the absence of pollen does not affect nectar production for approaching insects. However, this is controversial in beekeeping circles, since the modern plants, primarily cultivated for oil production, already produce little nectar anyway. If you want to attract bees and bumble bees into the garden, you should use older varieties such as ‘Atlanta’, ‘Volgograd’ or ‘La Torre’.

Diseases and pests
Especially the young plants of the annual sunflowers are popular with snails. They should therefore be protected from food. Either they are pre-cultivated in pots placed out of reach of snails, or they are sprinkled with slug pellets. The leaves of the plants are also occasionally attacked by powdery mildew.