Sunflowers — Solar Power

$3.49

Plant Solar Power sunflower seeds in mass plantings if you have the room because the flowers are so striking. They look great on their own as well, or mixed in with other medium-tall varieties. Striking bi-coloured petals are mahogany with bright yellow tips around a dark brown centre for amazing contrast on 1.7m (5.5') tall plants. Solar Power has thick, strong stems, but it is surprisingly nice as a cut flower, dominating any bouquet with its large size and flashy colour. All sunflowers are attractive to honeybees and other wild pollinators, and they can act as a kind of beacon to draw pollinators towards crops that require pollination like squash and pumpkins.

Quick Facts:

Hardy Annual
Mahogany with bright yellow tips
Grows to 1.7m (5.5') tall
Very colourful
Looks great in grouped plantings

Size: 2g (approx. 62 seeds)

How To Grow: Sunflowers will grow in just about any well-drained soil, and they are drought tolerant. Annual flowers that can grow to incredible heights in just one season. Continue reading below for tips on how to grow sunflowers from seed.

Difficulty
Easy

Season & Zone
Exposure: Full sun

Timing
Direct sow repeatedly after the last frost date. Starting indoors is possible, but does not gain much time. If sunflowers are allowed to get root-bound, they will lack stability at transplant time, and will require staking. Optimal soil temperature for germination: 21-30°C (70-85°F). Seeds should sprout in 10-14 days.

Starting
Sow seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. Space dwarf varieties 15cm (6″) apart, but give the giants lots of room at 1m (3′) between plants.

Growing
To grow really big plants with really big flowers, enrich the soil with organic matter and incorporate 2 cups of balanced organic fertilizer per 3m (10′) of row, and irrigate regularly. When the plants are 30cm (12) tall, dissolve 5ml (1 tsp) of borax (for boron) in 350 ml (12 fl oz) of water and spread the solution over 5m (15′) of row. Be careful not to over-apply this solution. This application of boron will produce bigger seeds and flower heads. Do not apply boron to other garden plants. When the back of the flower head turns yellow, it is ready to be cut from the plant.

Companion Planting
Sunflowers planted near rows of corn are said to increase yields. Sunflowers can be used to draw heavy metals, toxins, and even radiation from soil, but should be burned at the end of the season if grown for this purpose. Plant sunflowers amid squash plantings to improve pollination and overall production.

Rating: 5.0 Stars based on 4 reviews from westcoastseeds.com