Sunflower Help

[Digmeup]

Hi Guys

My daughter has come home from school with a sunflower seedling. The idea is that we grow it and take a picture when fully grown for a school project.

This has now grown to about 18 inches tall - and is now in a good sized pot.

Whats the best care we can give it for maximum growth and health.

Have noticed that some of the older leaves have now become discoloured and very limp looking - is this normal as it grows?

any help will be appreciated - and may even put the pic on here once it is fully grown.

Thanks for reading and helping out.

[Bud]

You need a very big pot. The roots will become very large and hungry for water. Some sunflowers grow up to 10-12 feet, 3 meters or more.

No, but some dry as the plant ages, more water.

HTH

[Billy]

Like any food plant it will need full sun. Feed with 2.88 oz chicken manure/1 sq.ft., .48 oz. bone meal/sq.ft., and one gallon of ashes per square yard on loam to clay-loam soil, and half as much on sandier soils. If you are top dressing the lawn or flowerbeds use only about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ashes per year. If worse comes to worse, get some organic 10-10-10. These things are heavy feeders, so you may want to give it fish emulsion every 2 weeks, or as directed on the bottle. I'd also invest in a small tomato cage or a tube made from wire fencing and fastened to stakes to give the sunflower support, at least until it's sturdy.

[brooklyn1]

I would plant it directly in the ground, in full sun, in well draining fertile soil and keep it well watered. If it's a giant sunflower I can't imagine it attaining close to maximum size in a pot.

[Billy]

Check with the teacher/school to see how big the sunflower will get. Sunflowers can be anywhere from 16" to 12' tall, with, or without multiple blooms. If the sunflower is likely to be taller than 6', it probably should go in the ground.

Plants will throw their bottom leaves to assure sufficient nutrition for its growing tip. To be on the safe side keep the soil in the pot, that is 1" below the surface, damp.

[Digmeup]

Thank you all for your very helpfull posts and comments

Have sorted a nice area to plant it in the soil as i think it will grow to big for the pot.

Will also, as suggested, give it some kind of support.

may stick a picture on here once it's grown if thats possible.