dvdnj,

"...water when I remembered..."

You have to do better than that. You need to keep the seedbed moist, even if that means sprinkling it every day until the sunflowers come up.

It is fairly common for something to eat your sunflower seeds, with birds and rodents being prime suspects. You should be able to verify that nothing ate your seeds by digging down and finding a few. That will let you inspect what condition they are in, with perhaps a root emerging and about to germinate, or the seed is soft and rotten and obviously dead.

Incidentally, what, if anything is growing in that sunflower patch right now? Grass? You could run your own germination test on a few of your seed by putting them in a Ziploc bag with a folded moist paper towel. If you were planting food grade sunflower seed in the past, they may have been baked or otherwise killed in the processing. I plan to grow a patch of sunflowers this year myself, and I am concerned about birds getting mine. I plan to plant them about an inch deep, because it says to do that on the seed packet. The seedlings should emerge in 7 - 14 days, the packet says.

ZM

Thanks, ZM - ok, I will be sure to be more vigilant with the watering. :-) (hmm, weeds don't need watering every day in my yard -- how come they don't seem to have a problem germinating. lol!) But I also like your suggestion to check to see what is happening with them. I do remember awhile ago noticing un-germinated seed weeks after planting. I buy the kind in the seed-packet (like Burpee, at a home improvement store), so I don't think these are the edible type. I will also try the ziploc germination test when the seeds come in. How about starting them indoors first? -- that sounds like an awful lot of work and expense, but maybe I need to do that to ensure success? My recent purchase is from a bulk seed distributor on eBay -- so I hoping his might be fresher, in case that was part of the problem in the past (although I don't recall a past expired date on the Burpees's bag in the past).

I had planted a few other perennials in the patch years ago, which are doing well. I typically clean up the patch of any weeds and stray grass prior to planting the sunflower seeds (although I live in the city, so stray grass is not much of an issue) -- but this year I will add some peat moss to see if that helps (I tried incorporating dried manure last year). Good luck with yours!

If you start them indoors be careful when transplanting them outdoors. They have a taproot. If you break it the plant will die. It is said that Sunflowers that are started in a pot will turn out shorter than if they were sown outdoors in the ground because of the tap root having to wind around in the pot instead of being able to grow straight down.

Moisture is very important during germination and seedling stages. Let the seed dry out just once during the process and you are done.

When sowing your seeds, plant multiple seeds in the same spot. When they come up and get a couple true leaves, pinch off all of the smallest seedlings, keeping the largest and strongest one.

Thanks, franknjim -- you are SO optimistic "when they come up and get a couple of true leaves, pinch off all of the smallest seedlings" -- don't I wish I could be so fortunate. LOL!

I did not know about the taproot situation -- good point- and I certainly do not want short sunflowers. I will try again this year -- with vigilance on the watering. Every day, you think? I am sure I watered at least 3 times a week -- but you think every day is better?

Watering everyday is good until they come up. It is just like starting grass seed. You can't let it dry out at all.

Hi dvdnj,

"How about starting them indoors first?"

As franknjim said, that's not a good idea because of the importance of the taproot to sunflowers. That advice is confirmed in this sunflower webpage at Renee's Garden. There is also some advice on growing ornamental sunflowers at Sunflower Selections.

What is your goal for your sunflowers? Tall plants? Big flowers? Ornamental? Snack seed? Bird food? I plan to save seed from my best specimens this year, with the idea of getting improved results next year.

ZM
(not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

Thanks, ZM!
I live in a "city" -- ok, maybe suburban (anything with sidewalks to me is "The City" :-) but I have quite a bit of 'growing for wild-life' landscaping on my postage-stamp sized lot: for the birds & butterflies. One of the 'benefits' of living in an urban area is one does not have to worry about deer, groundhogs (just squirrels [and that's only because I feed the birds], and very few bugs --not even mosquitoes!), so I can plant pretty much what I want. Anyway, I digress. So to answer your question, I would have to say the sunflowers are for the bees (during the developing stages) and birds (after the seeds have come in) -- but also as something beautiful to look at from my dining room window when the sun is setting during the summer: the bright yellow petals would just glow from the late afternoon until sunset from this west facing window -- about 6-8' tall specimens were the perfect size for viewing this spectacular site. When I was successful, I would have about a 6-8 large-headed sunflowers in a row. This caught on to others in the neighborhood and some people had as many as 25 in their small patches of ground. I liked that idea better and since then have been trying to get that same "field of sunflowers" effect -- there is enough space for that amount but, unfortunately, my yield has been '0'. I also have another area along my fence line that would look great for a 'wall of sunflowers' but I have never (even when the first area did yield some) been able to grow any there. That would also be an ideal location, not only esthetically (so I don't have to look at my neighbor's "junk yard") but also because that is where my birdfeeders/'pond' is located -- so the birds would not have to go far from their MacDonald's fast food bar to enjoy some fresh food too.

I am hoping that your suggestions work because I would also like to take some seed from the best flowers to use for subsequent years -- but so far, that's only a dream. :-)

Just talking to you guys has made me so excited just thinking about cleaning up for the new season. I am very concerned, however, since the hydrangeas were already putting out their buds in January and I had not even pruned them back yet -- that usually doesn't happen until March/April -- but the mild winter played havoc on some of the plants. I suspect I won't get much in the way of flowers this year. But, if I have a "wall of sunflowers" that will make up for the loss. :-) :-) Thanks!!

Good luck with your sunflowers! I am on a postage stamp size lot in central NJ, in a neighborhood bordered by too very major roads. Somehow the deer have still gotten in the last couple years or so, on occasion. Mosquitos last year for the first time were HORRENDOUS (apparently the new tiger mosquitos). This has nothing to do with you main topic, LOL, but I am surprised you didn't have mosquito problems last year!!

You must have some pretty courageous deer! We had a bear wander into town a couple times but that is not common. But last week I saw my first raccoon in my back yard -- that was like a National Geographic Moment for me! No mosquitos, or any bugs, for the most part, in the 20+ years that I have lived in town. That is nice in the summer because I can relax on the deck in the evening without the need for bug spray -- only bugs that we see are the moths that bump into the light. But the downside to this convenience is that I do not get the warblers and other woodland birds that my country friends get at their feeders. I get my share of sparrows and squirrels, though -- they need to eat too. :-)