Help - sunflower leaeves being eaten

[szeik]

Hi,

Our daughter is growing a sunflower that she started in preschool. It is one of those giant sunflowers.

So far the plant does not seem to be doing very well. It is tall, but the leaves are being eaten by something. I don't see any bugs, but there are small holes on the leaves.

It is pretty tall and has a good size stem, but very few leaves at this point, and the new ones keep getting eaten by something. The plant is almost 2 feet tall now.

Should I spray this plant with something? I'm not a big gardener so I'd appreciate any suggestions on what to do to try and revive this plant.

Thanks in advance, Steve

[JoeSpareBedroom]

1) Have you checked under the leaves to see if anyone's hanging on & munching? Do this at night, too, with a flashlight. 2) Think of the leaf with the worst damage. Can you guess as to what percentage of surface area is eaten?

[Bill R]

Steve,

We grow lots of sunflowers and have trouble with snails and slugs eating the leaves. Also, in some areas they are eaten by some type of cut worms.

Here is something to try that is safe around kids: Mix a capful of liquid soap (Dawn works well) with a gallon of water and spray the plant until water drips off the plant. You will need to do that every few days (more if it rains) and you don't need to spray the flower head. The soap will not hurt the sunflowers.