How to care for sunflowers

One of the most necessary points in the care of sunflowers is, as the name of the plant indicates, the sun. without a great contribution of direct lightthis plant will not be able to develop properly.

Because of this, the ideal location for sunflowers will usually be outdoors, in an area as sunny as possible of our garden, orchard or terrace. However, this does not mean that we cannot have sunflowers indoors. If we want to know how to care potted sunflowers, the most important thing is to find a very sunny location, next to a window or light source. Ideally, you should receive at least 6 hours of direct light daily.

It is recommended that the pot is quite deep. In fact, if the pot is spacious enough, we can place several of these plants in each container, up to three of them. Of course, these plants tend to tolerate transplanting quite poorly, so the process of transplanting a sunflower is very risky and we have a good chance of losing the plant. For this reason, it is advisable to always plant them in what will be their final location.

Once you are clear about where to place the sunflowers in your house, we recommend you read this other EcologíaVerde post about How to sow and plant sunflowers.

These plants are very resistant to most climates and have no problems with hot climates or even very warm. You shouldn’t have a problem with your sunflowers either if you live in a mild weather or even a little cold, although it is not advisable to expose them to extreme low temperatures. Thus, if frosts and temperatures below 0 are common in your area in winter, plant your sunflower in a pot indoors.

One of the points to keep in mind when caring for sunflowers planted in soil It is precisely this: the ground. These plants develop a very extensive root system, in which it is not uncommon for the roots to become deeper than the height of the plant stem itself. Therefore, they need loose and deep soils and, if planted in a pot, they require a container of considerable height so that there is sufficient depth.

On the other hand, it is also very important that the soil or the substrate offer a very good drainage, for which mixtures with sand, gravel or pebbles, among others, will help. As they are also quite demanding in terms of nutrients, it is convenient to prepare a loose and very rich substrate, such as, for example, the one made with a part of coconut fiber, a part of peat and another of earthworm humus, to which we can add vermiculite and perlite to improve its drainage and moisture retention.

To know how much to water sunflowers can be difficult at times. The plant needs a greater supply of water in its early stages of growth, but despite its large root system, it is not advisable to make it suffer from drought.

If we do not want the stem to lose strength, and this is very important given its large size, we must maintain a few frequent but moderate watering, so that we maintain a certain level of humidity on the ground, but always without flooding it. Making more spaced and abundant waterings could end up causing root rot or fungal attack.

It will be enough to use ecological fertilizers, such as compost or worm humusperiodically during the growing season, although we can also resort to specialized fertilizers with a prolonged effect.

Here we show you how to make homemade compost step by step, we explain what organic waste can be used to make it and more details.

The life cycle and growth of sunflowers is very fast. Since we sow the seeds, the normal thing is that they do not take more than 10 days to germinateand if they haven’t done it in that time they probably don’t already.

Later, alone 3 months the plant will have reached its stage of maturity and its finished size and it can be harvested in summer so that its seeds are planted the following spring.

to finish explaining how to care for sunflower plants, we want to talk about one of the most common problems that it can suffer, that you see that it is withering, not only the flora when it passes, but the entire plant or various parts. Here we explain some of the causes and what to do if your sunflower is wilting:

• If your sunflower seems to bend over on itself, with dry leaves and a stem that doesn’t seem to have enough strength, it’s probably because it needs more frequent watering.
• On the other hand, the lack of direct sun for at least 6 hours a day will also negatively affect the development of the plant.
• It is also important that the plant has a high supply of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.
• Finally, keep in mind that sunflower flowers are seasonal and won’t last forever. After ripening and giving the seeds, it is normal for them to wither and nothing can be done about it, other than harvesting them to plant again.

Below you can see a summary video on the care and cultivation of sunflowers.

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