Many vegetation carry pleasure to many individuals and supply splashes of much-needed spring and summer season color after a uninteresting and moist winter.
Perhaps considered one of the most placing and immediately recognisable flowers to add to your backyard is the beautiful sunflower, cherished by so many individuals together with artist Vincent Van Goch.
Reading: When is the best time to plant sunflower seeds
If anybody wanted convincing about the recognition of the sunflower, the annual present of fields of sunflowers blooming throughout the Nationwide Belief’s coastal land at Rhossili attracts a whole lot, perhaps even hundreds, of holiday makers to marvel at the sight yearly.
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Learn extra about the story behind the Gower sunflowers present offered by The Nationwide Belief, how one can get pleasure from the spectacle yearly, and what occurred when the Covid-19 pandemic struck on this article.
The recognition of the Gower sunflowers is a sign and assure that folks will likely be impressed with a mini model in your personal backyard.
However when do you have to plant sunflower seeds, how do you take care of sunflowers, how lengthy will sunflowers take to develop and what are the challenges of bringing this visually gorgeous flower into your backyard?
Table of Contents
What is a sunflower?
The Royal Horticultural Society description of the most typical and in style sunflower, generally known as Helianthus annuus, a tall, fast-growing annual with broad, oval to heart-shaped, roughly furry leaves 10-40cm lengthy. In summer season it bears large flowers up to 30cm throughout with shiny yellow petals and darkish brownish or purplish centres.
Why plant sunflowers?
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Other than the proven fact that sunflowers look completely superb when absolutely grown, they’re useful to your wildlife neighbours too. The flowers appeal to bees and the seeds that observe present meals for finches and for extra suggestions to make your backyard extra wildlife pleasant, take a look at this text full of recommendation.
Sunflowers are additionally simple to develop from seed and are an amazing flower to get the kids concerned in gardening at a younger age, with the progress fast and the outcomes visually stunning.
When to plant sunflower seeds
The best time to sow sunflower seeds is from April to Could in particular person 10cm pots of peat-free, multi-purpose compost, after which plant out into the backyard when there is no danger in any respect of frost.
How to plant sunflower seeds
Gardeners’ World recommends sowing one seed per 7.5cm pot. Push the seed 1.5cm into the compost and water in, then cowl pots with a transparent plastic bag and place in a cool however shiny place.
After the sunflowers have germinated, preserve them well-watered till they’re prepared to plant out at the finish of Could. Put together soil by eradicating weeds and add loads of natural matter after which plant the sunflowers at the similar depth they had been in the pot and water effectively.
The place to plant sunflowers
Earlier than you even buy any sunflower seeds, you must contemplate the place they’re going to be planted in the backyard after the sunflowers have began rising in pots and the danger of frost is zero.
The place of the sunflower planting is essential in accordance to the Royal Horticultural Society, who state the plant wants a reasonably fertile, humus-rich, moist however well-drained, impartial to alkaline soil and, crucially, in full solar however with some shelter, corresponding to a backyard wall, too if potential.
How to look after sunflowers
The taller styles of sunflower will want assist from a bamboo stake, however perhaps the most essential care recommendation is to water effectively and to not permit the plant and soil to dry out, particularly as the vegetation needs to be positioned in a sunny spot.
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The vegetation want feeding too, with Gardeners’ World suggestion utilizing tomato feed simply earlier than flowering. And when the flowers wilt do not be tempted to deadhead them as the intact pale flower heads present a seed feast on your native birds.
How lengthy will it take sunflowers to develop?
Annual sunflowers bloom from summer season into autumn. Relying on the selection, they’ll take 11-18 weeks to flower from seed sowing.
But when most peak is your closing sunflower purpose, select your selection rigorously as some solely develop to round 50cm in peak and a few can dash up to three metres.
When you’ve got chosen the best, sunny place to develop your sunflowers, you might be giving them the best probability of reaching optimum progress, though one ingredient you possibly can’t management is the climate.
The extra solar that the summer season can present, the higher and sooner the progress of the sunflowers will likely be.
Sunflowers will be grown in containers, however for optimum progress and peak, planting in the backyard is really helpful.
Any issues with rising sunflowers?
The principle downside you could encounter with rising sunflowers is that slugs and snails see them as a really tasty deal with. Gardeners’ World counsel ensuring you develop the seedlings fairly tall in case you are solely rising a handful of vegetation, and you possibly can additionally use wildlife-friendly slug pellets or copper tape to deter them
Recycling sunflowers
As soon as the birds have had their probability to feed on the seeds of the wilted flower heads, then it is your flip to take into consideration subsequent yr. Take the seeds, dry them out for a couple of days, pop right into a paper envelope and retailer in a dry spot inside.
Then sow the seeds once more in April the subsequent yr and begin the course of over again, and look ahead to having fun with this particular and sunny plant once more. And do not miss out on discovering out about nice gardens to pleasant dream properties, join to our twice weekly Superb Welsh Properties publication to see all of them.
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