This is my first year planting sunflowers and I still have a lot to learn. My sunflowers started from seeds I bought at Home Depot and I planted them in my garden in the back row on Memorial Day. I have different kinds of sunflowers to create different heights and colors. My flowers became so tall and sturdy because I planted them in an area that gets 7 hours of sun a day. Unfortunately, I use to have 10 sunflowers, but now there is one lonely one left. The others were eaten by a deer or attacked by the birds! The stems ended up snapping at 6+ tall and the head of the flowers torn apart. The one that is left is 10 feet tall and beautiful!
I’ve been looking up different ways to prevent these sort of things for next year’s planting season. I could tie the stems to a stake or use netting over the bud of the flower (animal friendly of course) to help keep the animals away.
The sunflowers I have are all are annual flowers. BUT there are annual AND perennial sunflowers. Here’s some ways to tell the difference:
- Annual sunflowers mostly have large seeded heads, while perennial sunflowers have smaller heads.
- Annuals will bloom the first year planted from seeds, but for perennials it may take up to two years.
- Perennials have deeper roots and annuals have “string-like” roots.
Do you have a sunflower garden? Share your photos with us!