Sunflowers are relatively easy to care for which makes them a popular garden staple – but mistakes can cut their life short. An expert has revealed his top tips for growing this summer
Sunflowers are a vibrant addition to any garden and are iconic thanks to their large, yellow flowers and towering stature. They are also easy to grow and are great for garden wildlife – providing both pollen for bees as well as seeds for birds.
However, some simple mistakes could be cutting their lifespan, so a gardening expert has revealed his top tips for happy and healthy sunflowers.
After planting your seeds, you should keep them fairly hydrated so they have something to soak into, which will allow them to develop new roots and shoots, gardener Ish explained.
The expert, known to his more than 60,000 TikTok followers as @gardening.with.ish, said that when you notice the plant coming out of the soil, watering every few days should be okay.
However, many people will continue with the routine of watering every day into summer, but this is a mistake. You shouldn’t be afraid to water the plant every single day to “keep it happy and hydrated” in hotter weather, Ish advised.
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The gardener also explained that sunflowers need to be planted in a sunny spot, adding: “They don’t call them sunflowers for nothing, so as you can imagine they love full sun.” You should also ensure to not plant the seeds too deep, he said.
“Make sure you only plant them about 1.5cm deep or about half an inch, they really don’t need to be that deep and they’ll root themselves to find that light.”
But what about compost? Sunflowers love a “really good, well-rotted compost” that has a good amount of drainage. Ish stated: “A good multi-purpose compost should be absolutely fine and it’ll dry quite nicely but still retain a bit of moisture, which will keep these nice and happy.”
In addition to the annual sunflowers with which most of us are familiar, you can also get a perennial variety, which are best planted in spring or autumn when the soil is warm and damp. Meanwhile, annuals are usually grown from seed then planted outside when the soil warms up and there is no risk of frost, the Royal Horticultural Society explained.
The perennial sunflowers will live for several years and will eventually form clumps that should be dug up and divided every few years to keep them flowering.
If you opt for annual sunflowers, these will die in the autumn, but you can collect the seeds and grow new plants with them when spring comes around.
While annual sunflowers do well from regular feeding with potassium-rich fertiliser, perennials don’t tend to need feeding. They also require less watering – after their first year of being watered regularly, they will only need additional water during drought periods, advised the RHS.