Sunflowers, one of the most attractive flower landscape plants, are a perfect choice for the spring and summer time. Their pretty yellow or red blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds, as well as providing an inviting shade for those who would like to bring some color into their flower landscape. Although the blooms are quite stunning and provide a lovely focal point, many gardeners find that sunflowers are not very practical for their particular type of landscaping design. In this article I will explore the practicality issues of planting sunflowers in your flower landscape design.
One of the first things that you should consider is the size of your flower garden. Sunflowers are best planted as a border between shrubs and other plants, and only if your yard is relatively large. For smaller yards, or for spaces that do not allow for a large number of sunflowers, you can use potted sunflowers instead. Potted flowers provide more flexibility of color and can be moved about in your flower garden without any fear of them being exposed to direct sun.
Many people wonder, are sunflowers good for the garden? The short answer is yes. Sunflowers, in general, are hardy plants that will tolerate dry soil. They are also fairly drought tolerant and will not do well in an area where the soil is flooded or has a very high moisture content. They are not an ideal choice for an area that will experience high seasonal temperatures.
In areas where the flower buds will open in the late morning or early afternoon, it is a good idea to plant the sunflower a little earlier than normal. Planting your flowers one month prior to their bloom can ensure that the flowers will have time to open fully and harden before you begin planting them. This will also give them a head start on the season, giving them a head start on pollinating the flower beds. Another benefit of planting them a month prior to the blooming is that they will be easier to handle when they come out of dormancy, as they will be less prone to becoming disheveled during the growing process.
The actual process of planting your sunflowers can be somewhat of a trial and error process. There are many experts who suggest that if you are going to grow any type of flower, you should try to keep things simple. This is not meant to be a criticism, but rather a suggestion that the more simple your flower garden design is, the less stress it will experience. If you choose to go with a sunflower, you will likely be planting it in a relatively large space. This coupled with the fact that sunflowers are very sensitive to sharp objects, and they will often be damaged by being stepped on or hit by a weed.
Sunflowers require some care because of their habit of growing so closely to each other. In order to ensure that your garden blooms, you must remove all weeds from the flower beds. Be sure not to pull the flower stems on the ground though. You want them to stay as close together as possible to flower buds. Because of the narrow width of the stems, sunflowers can often get snagged on other smaller plants or trees, causing them to die. This is why it is a good idea to wait until after the flowers come out of dormancy before removing any weeds from the area.
Although it is a good idea to wait until the sunflowers are ready to bloom, you might consider trying your hand at replanting them before they are fully developed. Sunflower seeds are actually quite resilient, and many flowerbeds can be developed into more than one garden. You might be surprised at the results when you plant sunflowers next to each other, and if you are not careful you may end up with more than you bargained for. Once the flower begins to bloom the weeds must go, but you have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t start to sprout back soon afterwards. Another thing to remember is that a lot of good sunflowers will flower and die in hot weather, so you will need to move them to a more protected part of your yard until the weather warms up.
Sunflowers are one of those plants that are very easy to care for. They grow well regardless of the type of soil, climate, or conditions they find themselves in. In fact, most gardeners find that there are almost no maintenance issues with sunflowers, although you will still need to check on them from time to time. If you have some trouble locating good sunflower seeds, there are plenty of good books on gardening that have all the details you need. Whether you are planting them yourself or buying them from a seed store, you will be delighted with the results once you try this fun and interesting hobby.