Sunflower Help

 


Hi Guys

My daughter has come home from school with a sunflower seedling. The
idea is
that we grow it and take a picture when fully grown for a school
project.

This has now grown to about 18 inches tall - and is now in a good sized
pot.

Whats the best care we can give it for maximum growth and health.

Have noticed that some of the older leaves have now become discoloured
and very
limp looking - is this normal as it grows?

any help will be appreciated - and may even put the pic on here once it
is fully
grown.

Thanks for reading and helping out.




--
Digmeup

 

On 2010-05-28, Digmeup wrote:

You need a very big pot. The roots will become very large and
hungry for water. Some sunflowers grow up to 10-12 feet, 3 meters
or more.


No, but some dry as the plant ages, more water.

 



Like any food plant it will need full sun.
Feed with 2.88 oz chicken manure/1 sq.ft.,
           .48 oz. bone meal/sq.ft.,
           and one gallon of ashes per square yard on loam to clay-loam
           soil, and half as much on sandier soils.
           If you are top dressing the lawn or flowerbeds use only about
           1/4 to 1/2 inch of ashes per year.
If worse comes to worse, get some organic 10-10-10. These things are
heavy feeders, so you may want to give it fish emulsion every 2 weeks,
or as directed on the bottle.
I'd also invest in a small tomato cage or a tube made from wire fencing
and fastened to stakes to give the sunflower support, at least until
it's sturdy.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

 

On Fri, 28 May 2010 08:41:12 -0400, Digmeup


I would plant it directly in the ground, in full sun, in well draining
fertile soil and keep it well watered.  If it's a giant sunflower I
can't imagine it attaining close to maximum size in a pot.

 



Check with the teacher/school to see how big the sunflower will get.
Sunflowers can be anywhere from 16" to 12' tall, with, or without
multiple blooms. If the sunflower is likely to be taller than 6', it
probably should go in the ground.

Plants will throw their bottom leaves to assure sufficient nutrition for
its growing tip. To be on the safe side keep the soil in the pot, that
is 1" below the surface, damp.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html