Sunflowers are everywhere in August. Eight planting and design tips ensure sunflower success in any temperate climate.
Sunflowers are everywhere these days. Early this morning, I saw fields - both large and small - of sunflowers turned to the just-risen sun. Farm stands sold almost every variety found in seed catalogs and sunflowers graced restaurant tables where I ate lunch.
Design your own patch of sunflowers for summer, 2008: Here are eight tips to help in your planning:
- Sunflowers need full sun to produce brilliant color, critical foliage and strong stems.
- Sunflowers also need a moderate amount of water in well-draining soils to thrive.
- Sunflower heads will almost always face East, the direction of the morning sunrise.
- Plant many different cultivars (cultivated varieties). How many depends upon available space. Different forms, colors and heights add dynamic interest.
- Sunflowers grow best in medium and large beds when planted in ladder-fashion – tall kinds at the rear, shortest near the front and mediums in the center of the bed. This way there is no danger of tall varieties shaded out the smaller ones.
- A hedgerow of tall sunflowers – some giants like Russian Mammoth grow to heights of up to 15 feet – can make up a barrier or focal point. In very little time, you can create a living fence of golden-yellow flowers and bright green leaves and stems.
- Plant as many different varieties as possible - Different forms, colors and heights add visual interest in the garden and vase
- Stagger seed plantings over time in early summer weeks. This will guarantee blooms all through summer and into fall. Planted this way, sunflower gardens stay dazzling all season long.
A Bonus: Flocks of colorful seed-eating birds attracted to mature sunflower seed heads is an added bonus when you grow a sunflower patch or hedge.
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2007. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
