I am a 100% novice gardener!! I have planted sunflowers (in pots) whic
are just beginning to flower however the lower leaves are turnin slightly yellow and brown-dry in places. Is there something I shoul be putting in the soil? Should I remove these leaves or let natur take its course? Thanks in advance for any help
-- CSmith
How big are the pots, in inches across the top (diameter), as well as height?
For a container you need a good draining soil and some kind of fertilizer. I usually throw in a good amount of slow release fertilizer when I mix the soil for the containers and then periodically hit them with that Miracle Grow blue stuff which is mostly nitrogen. Unlike in ground plants, containered plants need an external source of food. That said, the lower leaves of my sunflowers sometimes still turn yellow and fall off but not as much as in past years when I didn't have a fertilizer regime or have them planted in a good potting mix. The lower leaves don't really matter since those plants grow up up and up growing more leaves as it goes. Sometimes I think the sunflower plant realizes it doesn't need those leaves at the bottom anymore and stops funding them.
I have some sunflowers in an admitted bad location, but they are planted in the ground. The lower leaves have also yellowed and browned. Mostly, I pull them off to no negative effect. My mother-in-law has many more sunflowers in a much better location with the same leaf problem. She just lets them fall off on their own. I am inclined to agree with the previous post and think this is a natural part of the sunflower growth.
Tim S.New Jersey, zone 6b
They need food. If they yellow from the bottom up they need macronutrients, and if they yellow from the top down it's micros.
-- CSmith
"Buderschnookie" expounded:
No, even sunflowers planted in fertile soil show browning of the lower leaves, it seems to be the way they grow. I just pull them off.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.