Common Sunflower
(Helianthus)
The Common Sunflower is an annual fan favorite. From vegetable garden staples to flower garden accents, the Common Sunflower is a hardy, sun-loving addition to your garden that will produce enough seeds for many generations of plants. While they’re known for their tall variety, the Common Sunflower ranges from six inches to 10 feet tall. After harvest, seeds can be used for the next growing season, as a salad topping, or a snack for the little league dugout. Not to mention, birds, deer, and pollinators love them, too.
Environmental Benefits
The Common Sunflower is a powerhouse for urban ecosystems.
First, it’s a hardy plant, and its resistance to drought makes it easy to care for. As it is used for its height to add dimension to many flower gardens, its root system naturally aerates soil, bringing oxygen and water to neighboring plants.
Because of its hardiness, sunflowers can be grown successfully without fertilizer and the use of pesticides or insecticides.
Aside from its ability to reduce your water bill, the Common Sunflower is an abundant food source for many insects, animals, and birds. Additionally, as birds and other invertebrates consume sunflower seeds and its greenery, they’ll also consume any pests of the hosting garden.
While one sunflower puts a smile on your face, sunflowers grown in mass serve as a carbon capture. In fact, in an article written by Eloisa Agüera, who leads the Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, explains that environments with elevated CO₂ concentrations positively contribute to the early stages of plant growth.
After its lifecycle, sunflowers can be mulched and recycled into the garden, providing soil with vital nutrients. Some harvest the stalks of sunflowers to use as a trellis or stakes to support the next crop or other plants in the garden.
Growing Instructions
The Common Sunflower is easy to grow. A common review suggests that starting seeds indoors in a pot or a seedling tray before transplanting outside.
Timing: Put seeds/seedlings into the ground in spring after the threat of frost.
Sowing: Put seeds 1 - 2 inches deep into soil and cover. Do not tamp. Space seeds 8 - 12 inches apart.
Conditions: Full/Direct Sunlight (6 - 8 hours); well draining soil. Water well until germination; keep roots in moist soil until the plant has matured. Sunflowers are drought resistant once they’ve matured.
Gardeners Notes:
Support young plants with a pencil or chopstick early on. Long sticks, gardening stakes or Bamboo can be used when plants have matured and blooms
If planting in cluster, make sure sunflowers are spaced apart. Otherwise plants will compete and blooms will suffer.
Plant in a place shielded from wind by either a structure or other plants or trees.
