I'm in Indiana and was wondering if it's too late to plant any variety of Sunflower that will mature between now and late October? (little over 3 months of growing time)
Something quick to germinate....fast grower.
Have a great spot for a large quantity and some free birdseed?
Seed packages usually list the number of days need from germination to flowering.
I'll tell you, Just around this time,(July) two years ago, I planted a whole garden full of "black oil" sunflower seeds in my Illinois garden . They grew grew like crazy and had beautiful flowers before the Fall that the butterflies and bees and birds loved. Best of all...50 pounds of "bird seed"...for ten bucks...at any Menards............................ Forget them little packets !
Bill
EBG wrote:
I have planted Sunflower seeds as late as the middle of July here in the Ohio Valley and they have always bloomed well before our first frost.
Commercially available sunflowers have maturity times ranging from 60 days up to 100 days. Look for some of the shorter ones in any good seed catalog. There must be a few thousand varieties to choose from. Many hybrids, some pollenless (if you want them as cut flowers [but don't use this kind for seed or oil]). Prices are also all over the map. Sunflowers for bird seed (which will grow if you plant them, but the maturity time is indeterminate) are in the $5-15/50 lb range. Some of the hybrids get up to $70/oz.
I'd say you have a reasonable chance of getting seed heads from birdseed, but a better chance with some of the decorative sunflowers from a catalog if you choose the shorter maturity time.
Does "Autumn beauty" sound like a good one?
Anyone ever grow this?
Autumn beauty, as I recall, is a multi-headed sunflower that reaches a height of around 4-5 feet. The heads are a nice mix of colors, but not very large (maybe 4-6" in diameter not including the petals). It's a nice decorative sunflower, but not heavy on seeds. It should have plenty of time to form heads with seeds if planted in the next couple of weeks. You won't win any prizes for the largest head or tallest plant at your county fair, but it didn't sound as if that was your intent anyway.
Your original post sounded as if you were interested in producing birdseed. If I were you I would plant some sunflower birdseed along with a mix of other varieties. You could see how the other varieties do (and maybe try a few bouquets) and the birdseed would probably come from a plant that was designed for birdseed production. Plant the other varieties on the outside where you can get at them if the birdseed varieties get too tall.
Yeah....I thought I'd plant some black oil and the Autumn beauty together.....wish I would have done it sooner.
Thanks for the info.
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