Grow a Sunflower Garden at Home!

Do you love sunflowers? Why not plant a whole space or fence line dedicated to them! Sunflower gardens are easy to grow, and with their tall flowers they are sure to bring a smile to your face this summer.

What is a Sunflower Garden & Different Varieties

A sunflower garden is what’s in the name, a garden dedicated to sunflowers to look at, cut, and bring in the home for beautiful arrangements.  

There are SO many different varieties of sunflowers, and can I tell you a secret? I used to hate sunflowers. Crazy right? I think it was because I didn’t like how the middle of the sunflower is so brown. I like the petals of flowers to be the focal point, BUT I kept planting them because they are so easy to grow and honestly kept showing up in my garden without me trying. The bright flowers have grown on me, and I have also found different varieties that really swoon my heart. 

There are probably over a hundred types of sunflowers. There are a few varieties with important characteristics that are important to know when choosing what kind of sunflower seed to plant. The best sunflowers to plant will depend on what you are trying to accomplish from your sunflower garden.

Branching or Single Stem

Sunflowers either grow with one large stem and produce one main flower, or grow a main stem with lots of flowers that come off the sides (or branch off) with lots of flowers. Single stem sunflowers are usually bigger (such as the mammoth sunflower that can grow 12 feet tall), and once the flower is cut from the stem it will no longer produce anymore flowers. Sometimes it will produce a deformed looking flower if you leave the plant in the ground, but it’s not so pretty to look at. 

Something to note about these sunflowers is they drop A LOT of pollen. If you are keeping these flowers on the plant it doesn’t matter and the bees will love it. It doesn’t present a small problem if you are cutting them for an arrangement and place them on your table, expect a lot of pollen to drop. It’s not a big deal, but if that is going to be annoying to you let me introduce the pro cut sunflower varieties.

ProCut

Pro cut sunflowers are usually single stem sunflowers. In fact I have never seen a branching pro cut sunflower. Pro cut sunflowers are bread to be small heads, grow shorter, and do not produce the buckets of pollen most sunflowers produce.  Perfect if you want to grow flowers for vases.

Dwarf

You can get sunflowers in a dwarf variety. These sunflowers are usually single stem and grow shorter. This is helpful because the plant will bloom faster, won’t take up as much space, and are good for cutting or pots. 

Colors

The best part. For me, most sunflowers are so bright and the middle takes over the whole flower. Now this is just my opinion, but I want to tell you this so you know that I have even found sunflowers that I LOVE. If you’re going to grow a sunflower garden, grow something you can’t find anywhere else, make it special for you. Here are some that I like

ProCut White Lite- These sunflowers have a yellow center and light yellowish cream petals. These are the sunflowers that convinced me to like sunflowers

ProCut White Night- These also have light yellowish cream petals, but have a dark chocolate center. The contrast is beautiful. 

Drop Dead Red- This is a mix of reds and orange sunflowers that I planted last year. I got the mix from botanical interest. This is a great mix and I would highly suggest it. I planted the seeds in mid June and got the most beautiful fall colored sunflower arrangement. It was spectacular. 

Teddy bear- These are a new hit to the growing community. The large sunflower heads and hundreds of petals, makes the sunflower look “fluffy”. It is definitely a show stopper. 

How to Plant

Sunflowers are great to plant with kids because the seeds are big and easy to see. Plant the seed ¼ inch deep about 6 inches apart, or refer to the seed packet’s instructions. It will depend on the type of flower you are planting. If I am planting single stem sunflowers I will plant 2-3 seeds per hole. I let them grow in the same hole to save on space and keep the stems thinner for arrangements. If you are growing large sunflowers or branching sunflowers your spacing will be farther. Just refer to the seed packet.

When to Plant

When to plant your sunflower seeds will depend on where you live, what sunflower you’re planting, and when you want the sunflowers to bloom. Refer to the seed packet to find the “days to maturity”. This will tell how long it will take to bloom. This is not an exact day so I usually give it an extra week or two. Use this date to count when you want to harvest. 

Sunflowers will die if temps get below freezing (32 degrees), so do not plant too early in the spring or two late in the fall. It is suggested to plant 2 weeks after your last frost date. Your last frost date can be found with a simple google search. Also remember if you want to use sunflowers for arrangements you can plant half at one time, wait 2 weeks and plant another round. This will allow you to enjoy your flowers for longer and they won’t bloom all at once.

Do Sunflowers Come Back Each Year?

Technically no, the same sunflower plant will not grow back the next year. BUT If you let one single flower reach maturity and drop its hundreds of seeds on the ground, those seeds will most likely grow the next year if they get enough water.  Sunflowers are so easy to grow that at this point in my garden I have to deliberately try to keep them from growing.

Why Not to Plant Sunflowers

As I said before, if only one sunflower is allowed to grow to maturity and drops its seeds on the ground, the seed will likely grow the next year. Because of this, be careful where you plant sunflowers because they can take over a space. It’s usually not too big of a deal if you don’t want sunflowers the next year, just simply pull the seedling out of the ground in the spring. Last year I probably pulled 100 sunflower plants out of the ground and still got a large batch of beautiful sunflowers.

Sunflower Garden Ideas

Sunflowers can be so fun because they grow so tall, so be creative and use them like a wall you can

• Plant them on a fence line for privacy and a beautiful wall
• As a backdrop for pictures or up against your home 
• Plant in a circle for a kids hideout, just be aware the the stems can be a little poky so leave space to get by

The list goes on and on. What do you think? Are you convinced to grow a sunflower garden this year? Share in the comments below!

More Cut Flower Garden Posts!

Easy Seed Starting for Beautiful Flowers: Tips and Tricks

Simple Cut Flower Garden Layout Plans for Small Spaces

How to Start a Cut Flower Garden for Beginners- Top 5 Flowers

Grow Your Perfect Cutting Flower Garden This Year!

As always,
Grow flower to heal your soul

Beth