Sunflower(if it is a big "Giant" sun flower) grows up to 10ft high, and it's stem could be wide as your wrist. It will sure win competition with cucumbers for nutrients and water. From other point, there are much smaller ones as well(I have them growing every year as volunteers seeded from winter bird's food.)They never grow higher then 2-3ft tall and would be OK near cucumbers. So question is - which one you brought home...

I depend so on the little card they stick in the plant, which just says: Sunflower Helianthus annuus, tall height gran altura, size 4-6' tall, 8-12"w Thanks

Crossing my fingers & toes that someone can tell me if the sunflower will be too competing with the cukes for nutrients & water for what kind it is. I want to plant it today.

The sunflower will likely compete some for nutrients, water, and sunlight. At 5 feet tall it won't totally ruin the cukes. Lone sunflowers are notorious for blowing over in windstorms. shorter ones...not so much.

But it would take away from our cuke harvest? In other words, plant elsewhere?

Sunflowers are competitive and really need thier own space. They will affect your cukes to some extent depending on how many are sharing space with the cukes.

I've found nothing better to attract bees than catnip (once it flowers). Perhaps a container or two of catnip placed around the garden might help. Might be a bit late to get it going this year though. Its very good at reseeding so you'd probably find volunteers growing outside of the container at some point

How about next to 2 lavender plants, or will it suck the life out of those too? :(

I let part of my basil and Thai basil flower. The bees loved it.

Is it okay by lavender though?

Lavender would probably be great. Also a good bee attractor.

Thank you all for your help. Really appreciate. So I have to stick this one sunflower plant somewhere & I don't have a lot of options. I don't want to put it in the veggie garden now that I know it will take nutrients away from the cukes. By the lavender plants is okay?

If your garden soil is properly prepared, relax about losing nutrients. If it isn't prepare it. Also, relax about drawing pollinators to your garden, when there are flowers to pollinate, they'll be there. Nature has designed things that way. Catnip is great, provided you don't have feral cats in the neighborhood, if you do, they'll destroy it and in their "ecstasy" anything around it.

Milkweed is good for butterflies. A few years ago I put in a small water garden with a waterfall with various water plants (and rocks) and my butterfly and bee population exploded (make sure there are plants, rocks, etc. so they don't drown).

FYI, if a honeybee lands on you, it doesn't want to sting, it wants the salt in your perspiration. If you just want to water bees, float wine corks, corncobs, etc. so they can light and drink safely. That's assuming that it stops raining this year.....:-)

Where ever you decide to plant it, try to minimize disturbing the roots of whatever is already growing there. Lavender is pretty hardy but it likes less water than your typical sunflower. Come to think of it, that's another reason to avoid the cucumber plants - they are shallow rooted by nature and resent having their root system messed with.

Well, since the sunflower is an annual whereas my lavender is perennial---I won't over water it (for the sake of the lavender). It will die by the end of the season anyway--whereas my lavender will hopefully live on for a few years.

Sunflowers will attract bees during the period they are in bloom, but they tend to bloom over a short period. They will also attract birds as the seeds begin to ripen, which can be a mixed blessing. As already stated, sunflowers have a large aggressive root system, so they will compete with other plants nearby. They also can cast a lot of shade, so they should be planted on the North side of shorter vegetation.

Catnip & milkweed have been suggested to attract pollinators, and they will... but both are very invasive perennials, and if grown, they should be given a dedicated space outside the vegetable garden.

Cosmos is a very good bee plant; it blooms quickly & continuously, has a less competitive root system, and the lacy foliage allows some light to penetrate. Basil is good too, and has a long blooming period if the old flowers are removed... but it will bloom late.

There is a flowering mallow that is one of my favorite bee plants, Malva sylvestris "Zebrina". It is a self-seeding annual that blooms early, and continues until frost. It is a very heavy pollen producer; I've seen several species of bees working the flowers at one time. I've allowed it to naturalize in my garden, so it is a welcome "weed" which replaces the wild mallow that was already growing there.

Great advice by Aniajs, especially regarding diversity of flowering plants, and overlapping bloom periods. Cucumbers & squash will attract bees on their own, since they are good pollen sources & bloom over a long period... but you might want to consider plants which bloom earlier, to draw them in. I realize it won't help you much this year, but it is a worthwhile exercise to drive around your neighborhood each week, and note what is in bloom... both wild & cultivated. I don't know the size of your lot, but don't overlook trees... box elder & birch are some of the first places where I see bees active in Spring.

I think cilantro is popular with insects, and reseeds, which is good if you like cilantro. But I agree with others, it is important to have continuous blooming to retain pollinators.

Bees love clovers, alfalfa & many of the flowering plants that attract butterflies as well. Clovers & alfalfa add nitrogen to the soil & can be trimmed & used as mulch to enrich the soil too. Bees around here also like arugula flowers & the flowers of other plants in the same (mustard) family. Many herbs are attractive to pollinators when they're allowed to flower.

I have an herb garden in pots (rosemary, basil, thyme, marjoram, chives, oregano.....) just a few feet from the vege beds and have NO shortage of all sorts of bees! Nancy

my garden has cosmos along the last row for bees and this year theyre actually about 5 foot tall already. I also plant Nasturiums around the cukes and zukes and randomly plant marigolds to repel bugs. Marigolds arent a bees first choice but they have no problem visiting them in late August when all other flowers have pretty much stopped blooming

I have a couple of Fennel plants growing around my vegetable garden. All manner of bees are gathering in it right now as it is blooming. Honeybees and all kinds of much smaller native bees. These Fennel plants reseed themselves so I don't have to bother planting them.

wildflower mixes are also a great way to attract bees. Although I avoid planting them in the vegetable garden since they pretty much multiply like weeds. If you have the space, try planting some close to the garden but not in it. Bees have been using wildflowers long before we introduced and imported all sorts of ornamental flowers :)

I let a few leeks bolt and produce those wonderful spherical lavender and white flower heads. I could not believe the number of honey bees congregating on them! There were even bees sleeping in the flowers very early the other morning