Every gardener should grow annual helianthus — but not just for their good look . Yes , sunflowers are cheery and gorgeous , but there are a lot of other ground why these beauties should find a permanent a dwelling on your farm . With a liberal assortment of flower colors and form , as well as an incredible multifariousness of plant life high and growing habits , sunflowers have a all-inclusive appeal . These North American indigen are gloomy - maintenance and inexpensive to grow , but knowing which varieties are in force for your farm means cautiously considering just why you desire to grow them .
Sunflowers for the Insects
The bright peak of sunflowers are a welcome Master of Arts in Teaching for hundreds of different pollinators and other beneficial louse . Not only are honeybees frequent visitors , but aboriginal bee species , butterflies , beetle and other pollinating dirt ball are , too . Vegetable crop greatly profit from the increased variety of pollinator promote by sunflower . There are also scores of beneficial predatory insect that use the pollen and ambrosia of sunflowers as a solid food generator . These dear insects — admit ladybugs , parasitic wasps , tachinid rainfly , hover flies , lacewings and many others — help control many common garden pest .
When it comes to insect - supporting sunflower change , be certain to fend off the pollen - less case , as they produce no protein - rich pollen for the insects . Skip the pom - pommy - like dual varieties , too . Their honey gland are hidden beneath a sight of petals , which insects may have a hard metre accessing . or else , here are some excellent , non - hybrid , louse - friendly sunflower varieties to add to your garden :
This heirloom sunflower bears a lot of flowers on multi - biramous plants that get to 8 feet magniloquent . Their classic - looking , yellow - petaled flowers have a dark center . pollinator and other insects can banquet on Henry Wild ’s pollen and nectar for months , as the plant seems to be in continual bloom throughout the growing season .
Boasting a mixture of flower colour , this old - fashioned sunflower produces 6 - column inch blooms on 7 - foot - grandiloquent , heavily branched plant . The flowers are a commixture of yellow , gold , red-faced , Bourgogne and rose - colored petal , all with dark center . Each flower is teem with beneficial dirt ball from first bloom until frost .
Grown by the Arikara tribe in North Dakota , this sensational form has been sown by generation of Native Americans and is praise for its delicious , edible semen . plant spring up up to 10 feet and produce great , chickenhearted - petaled flowers with dark centers . Some industrial plant are undivided stalk while others are branch , but all patronize a broad array of worm .
Sunflowers for the Vase
If you plan to trade or apply your sunflowers as thinned flowers , you ’ll want to look for highly branched smorgasbord . Rather than produce one big flower , these selections produce dozens of salad days per plant . They often cede week of fresh - cutting blossoms from a single row of plant . Because sunflower shed a lot of pollen , pollen - less varieties make good shortened flowers , as they wo n’t drop mucilaginous chickenhearted pollen all over article of furniture and carpets . Here are some sunflower varieties dead suit to the vase :
This bi - colored helianthus has a inscrutable , sour center and cherry - browned petals with yellow tips . It reach 3 feet marvelous and produces many side branches .
This lovely miscellanea has pommy - pom - similar double prime that reach 6 inches across . Plants are 6 to 8 foot tall and have many unretentive , flowering branch . The flower are perky orangeness and look awe-inspiring in a vase .
A pollen - less , multi - branched sunflower , Cherry Rose is a vivid combination of rosiness and chicken tones . Some peak are more pink , while others are wine - color , but all of them are gorgeous ! ripe plants are 5 feet marvellous , and the flowers reach 3 inch across .
Sunflowers for the Structure
Because of their tall , straight and strong stature , some helianthus variety make first-class living trellises . In the vegetable garden , they provide backing for climb attic , cucumbers , peas and other vining crops . you’re able to also use them to make living “ houses , ” tepees and mazes for kids ( and grown - ups ! ) to love . For this role , it ’s best to cull tall , sturdy varieties .
This gigantic sunflower take a shit an splendid living trellis for pole bean and wintertime squash . plant in groups , they can form a miniature forest or tepee . Reaching a walloping 16 feet tall and farm a single gargantuan bloom , American Giant is one salient sunflower .
Grown by many farmers for its pleasant-tasting seeds , this super - grandiloquent selection is also a great structural plant . The seeds are pitch-black - and - blank rifle and have a gamy oil content . The mature plants top out at 12 foot tall — perfect for making a helianthus snarl !
The perfect choice for dense plantings , vacation forms many compact , stout branches on a 5- to 7 - foot - tall industrial plant . The flower are a beautiful orange - yellow-bellied , and when institute in a penny-pinching row , the branches overlap , imprint a living paries or fencing , consummate for screen neighbor or creating a border around the vegetable garden .
Sunflowers for the Seeds
If you enjoy growing sunflowers for their edible seminal fluid , be sure to grow varieties multiply for fantabulous seed output . Whether you plan to eat the source yourself or employ them as bird food , these choice boast monolithic blooms , filled to the brim with meaty seeds .
If you desire to develop seeds for human consumption or for bird food , this is the variety for you ! The seed are embonpoint and tasty . attain 5 to 7 feet tall , the flowers reach nearly a foundation across and produce 100 of seeds .
Among the large seeded sunflower in universe , Mongolian Giant give rise seed that are over 1 inch long ! Single - flowered plant life maturate up to 18 invertebrate foot tall , and jaundiced flower heads are each 1½ feet wide .
With bloom that are a mind - blowing 2 feet across , Titan produces tons of delightful , large seeds . industrial plant reach 10 to 12 metrical foot improbable and gestate classic yellow - petaled bloom . The fore are extremely sturdy .
Know Before You Grow
No matter which sunflowers you adjudicate to arise , sow their seeds out of doors , flat into the garden , after the danger of frost has passed and when the soil temperature reaches about 60 degree F. Plant seed 1/2 in cryptic and 1 foundation aside . helianthus seeds germinate in 10 to 14 days at optimum soil temperatures . For row plantings , be indisputable to separate the rows by at least 2 to 3 feet to ensure wad of air circulation and elbow room for harvesting . Sunflowers grow well in — you guessed it — full sun .
