Is there a 'Sunflower' only forum?

Isn't this just as gorgeous before it blooms? This might just become my new favorite flower. nah, lavender still wins ^_^, but I can't believe how beautiful they are before they open up!

The bees like them too ^_^

some will bloom near the ground.

this is next to my yellow crook neck squash ... maybe 16" high?

some try to hide

^_^

some look hairy

some open up slowly...like a bashful woman


Only one more to go ... I promise =)

This message was edited Aug 1, 2008 8:28 PM

or can't decide which color to be.

These are a few of the plants from a Sunflower Seed Trade. I dropped a few seeds in a hole at the beginning and end of each row of my veggie garden. As you can see, my garden has been blessed with surprises almost daily.

Anyone else care to share their pictures?

oops. I'm famous for this...

I can't believe you directed me to this thread with the claim that you're not a great photographer... I love the shots you got of these beautiful blooms, especially that last one!

Do you know the name of that deep red sunflower? That's really unusual. I had good intentions of sowing an assortment of sunflower seeds this spring but ended up saving them for next year. I'm really looking forward to them now -- thanks!

Thank you. I'm really not, but, those are easy shots to capture...LOL and crop. People are MUCH harder, LOL.

No, I dont know, but I'll ask the girls who contributed the seeds. I got mine because I was a newbie to the group. I'll let you know. ^_^

this one, maybe? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/73596/

close, anyway

Critterologist, the lady who did the group trades says " that sunflower is from a mix called "autumn beauty." So don't know the specific name. "

btw, I found a pk of seeds at WM for a DIME, that's called 'Apricot Twist' that i'm not sure whether to plant this year or save for next year. (It's one of the 'Burpee Select' pks that usually sells for $1.50) I've searched on the internet for a picture, but everytime I find it listed, they show a stock picture of yellow sunflowers. The picture on this pkg is NOT yellow, its a pastel color. its described as "fresh apricot colored petals swirl around the center disks of these pollen-free blooms"

hmmmmm what does that mean? no bees? I think I'll plant 1/2 of the pkg and save the rest for next year incase its too late in the year for here.

Thanks for all the lovely pictures!

Some newer varieties of sunflowers developed for use as cut flowers have no pollen, I think so that they won't make a mess shedding pollen indoors?

But beware of cheap seeds, I bought some cheap "Gardener's Choice" seeds at Canadian Tire, and while they have all grown well they are not the type claimed on the label! (In particular, my "Dwarf Double Cherry Rose" nasturtiums are mostly large single orange; the "Rosie O'Day" alyssum is mostly purple instead of pink, and my "Velvet Queen" sunflowers are rusty brown, not as red as I've seen elsewhere.)

Hi Everyone, I'm new to DG and to gardening in general. I moved from a studio apartment in NY to a larger one with a balcony facing south-west. It's exciting to be able to plant things however I feel clueless at times.

I bought a pot of yellow dwarf sunflowers the day before yesterday and planted them in a larger container and doused them with lots of water. I haven't watered them since. The weather has been warm and very sunny however they seem to be wilting. What did I do wrong?

It could be that they were growing in a less sunny or less exposed spot before and are just having a bit of transplant shock, trying to adjust to their new "digs." Can you tuck them into a shaded corner (especially get them out of direct sun during the hot afternoon), or slide them under a patio table etc. for a little protection until they get settled in?

Also, be sure your larger container has a hole in the bottom for drainage. Sitting in really soggy soil can cause root problems that produce wilting symptoms... just figured I'd double check about that! :-)

I'm glad you've got a balcony at your new place! I think you'll have fun trying different plants out there and figuring out what grows best and what your favorites are... Welcome to DG!

I agree about giving them a little shade at first, most likely it's just transplant shock. It doesn't hurt to check that they have the right amount of water too--containers can dry out pretty quick when it's hot out. I'd try sticking your finger down a couple inches into the pot and see how the soil feels--if it's really dry then you probably need to give them more water (but don't water just because they're wilting, plants can wilt when it's hot even when they have plenty of water available so make sure to test with your finger before watering)

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'll give your suggestions a try. The sun is very intense the past few days so I'll try the shade. My basil plant was wilting too until I put it in a less sunny spot.

Welcome Elmfoot...I'm pretty new myself. Don't be afraid to ask questions...there's lots of patient and knowledgeable people on this site. Good luck with your sunflowers! This was my first time to grow sunflowers and I am beyond amazed at their beauty. hah I have more pictures to post later, LOL

Canadian Tire....that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. ahhhh that was another lifetime ago.

I moved the sunflower plant into a shadier corner of the balcony and it appears to have sprung back to life! Thanks everyone.

Hooray!

ok...here's a few more shots from last night.

the pale one with the bigger petals is new.

Another new one...I believe this is Tangerine.

Look how tall! close up to follow

Ooh, nice backlighting on that shot of 'Tangerine'!

Spectacular, I say.

Gorgeous!

Now we need a closer look at its strawberry-blond companion... :-)

(I know, I'm so demanding! LOL)

I was trying to get a shot of the flower in the upper left corner.

I don't know what the very center part of the sunflower is called, but look how it has a much rounder curve and depth.

did that make sense?

haha...Ok...tomorrow night. its dark out now =)

this one has been around; it's about waist high still. but look at the pollen on the leaf below it. and the busy bee at work.

And yet another bee. This is a close up

It's almost as though this one has a second set of petals that frame the center part. daintier.

That bloom in the upper corner looks like a big fat pincushion! :-)

You might also try to get a macro (closeup) shot of the developing seeds with those pollen tags on them... I love the geometry of these blooms... The more you & your camera look at your sunflowers, the more we all see! Thank you!

I should ask what a pollen tag is. I am going to learn the proper names of all of a sunflower's parts, but I haven't had a chance.

Look at how the two are facing in different directions. Surely the bean vine hasn't kept it from turning, LOL.

poor beans. they need to be picked! and a helping hand towards the bamboo teepee. Sunflowers are more fun.

I think this one was a short one also; I need to get more of her in a day or so.

LOL... I'm sorry, I have no clue if "tag" is an official term... it's just what those little flags of pollen look like to me... I think I've heard the term *somewhere*, but I sure could not tell you if it was from a factual sort of source!

I think we need to read up on basic terms (at least, I know I do)... have you seen the series of articles that LariAnn has begun on Botany for Gardeners? She has a great way of explaining complicated stuff in simple terms. I think I need to print out the whole series for further study and easy reference!

I've been entertaining the notion of letting some pole beans climb up some tall sunflowers next year (the basic 'Black Oil' sunflowers are really sturdy)... what do you think?

No, but I will check it out. I was sort of waiting on my new book too. and excess time. I know there's a wealth of information on this site alone, but seems like when I have time to spare, I spend it on the threads I'm watching ^_^

Re the beans, I didn't plan to do that on mine... Bad weather, bad seeds, as well as bad advice. And some nameless person made some of the bean teepees so high that I can't reach them =)

It could have been other factors, but when I planted beans with my corn in yrs past, I think I had less output for both veggies. Maybe I should have fertilized more too, like twice as much??? I dunno.

But I think for appearances sake, it would look cool to see beans hanging off of them. Maybe I'll try again next year. For sure, next year I plan to make a whole row of sunflowers, not on each row.

Aha! I found you and your sunflower thread, Phyl :-). You’ve posted some beauties over here! It’s so fun to see what you’ve got flowering. I recognize a lot of them from my own garden, but some of the other ones are totally different…very neat!

Great photos Nanniepb! I'll have to get my hands on a digital camera and start taking pictures. I noticed my sunflowers look wilted in the evening when I get home from work but much better first thing in the morning even though they're in a shadier spot on the balcony. The whole plant seems a bit in trouble. I brought it inside this morning so I'll see how it looks this evening.

The other plants I have are herbs each in their on pot and an English ivy. I'd like to bring them all in at winter but I'm worried about my two cats. I understand the ivy can be toxic to them.

Lovely pics of your sunflowers nanniepb! I believe that the questionable darksunflower, (if not Moulin Rouge), is also possibly the Chianti variety. I have those growing and LOVE them. Your s.flower looks very similar. The bloom colors vary from wine with gold along the backside, to almost black.

My first one bloomed the other day and of course, before I got to take a picture, one of the squirrel's tore it down off the plant! >:- ( They also managed to break another stalk in half a couple of days after the original theft. I'm not quite sure what to do about the little boogers, but I figure that I should at least buy some corn cobs and hope that it inspires them to leave my sunflowers alone.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. :-)

Awww...maybe another bloom will follow it shortly. The deer have gotten a few of mine, but I've been fortunate that it wasn't a one of a kind.

Here are some I took today. It was the wrong time of day because the shots I wanted were facing the sun, but I got a few different ones I think. enjoy ^_^

I was trying to get this one for Critter...the strawberry blonde one ;)

oops.

I was trying to capture the inside of this one as it is even before it's opened up. And the way the leaves surrounding it are just as perfectly formed.