How to Grow Sunflowers
It’s hard to see a sunflower blooming and not smile. Sunflowers are a great addition to a summer garden. Take advantage of the unique characteristics of sunflowers and put them to work in your garden. Learning how to grow sunflowers is easy, and finding new ways to incorporate them into your garden is fun. Here are 7 of my favorite reasons to grow sunflowers.
7 Reasons to Grow Sunflowers
1. Sunflowers are easy to grow.
Sunflowers are one of the easiest flowers to grow. Drive along a freeway in certain parts of the country and you will see wild sunflowers growing in compacted dirt on the side of the road. Plant sunflower seeds about an inch deep in loose soil; the roots like to grow deep and wide.
Sunflowers can grow in poor soil, but richer soil will produce larger blooms. The amount of space to leave between plants depends on the size of the flower. Small blooms can be spaced about 6 inches apart, but the largest blooms need about 3 feet between each plant.
Tip: When it’s time to remove the sunflower, don’t pull it out; cut the stem a few inches above the dirt. In a month or two, the roots will decay, and the stem will quickly come out of the ground without removing excessive amounts of soil with the roots.
2. Sunflowers make an excellent trellis for other plants.
Sunflowers grow tall, and the many vining plants of summer (cucumbers, squash, melons) often find the tall, straight trunk and climb. This natural trellis helps keep the plants off the ground, and growing plants vertically encourages healthier plants.
Sunflowers can offer shade and support to nearby cucumber plants. Explore this and other smart companion plant options in the cucumber companion plants guide.
This is similar to a “Three Sisters” garden with a beneficial relationship between corn, beans, and squash. Plant sunflower seeds near vining plants and plan for the vines to climb the sunflower.
Check out my Three Sisters Grow Bag Garden, a traditional companion planting method adapted for containers—learn how to incorporate sunflowers alongside beans, squash, and corn (or their alternatives) for best results.
For more companion plants for warm-season gardens read this guide.
3. Sunflowers provide shade in the garden.
Once you learn how to grow sunflowers in your garden, they often come back year after year. As they sprout, determine which ones to let remain to provide shade for your garden. The multi-branching varieties are usually great for this. Prune lower leaves to provide access in and around sunflowers and leave higher leaves and blooms to shade other plants.
Want more ideas for providing shade in the garden? This article shares my favorite tips.
4. Sunflowers can attract colorful birds to your yard.
Here in Arizona, if you have sunflowers and like to get up early, you may be rewarded by visits from Love Birds. They show up as early as 5 a.m. in my yard during the summer. I’ve spotted ten in my yard at one time. When they are done, the yellow finches show up and enjoy the seeds and leaves.
There are always plenty of sunflowers, so I don’t mind sharing with the birds. It’s one of my favorite parts of summer mornings. To attract visitors all year, dry sunflower heads and attach to fences in the winter months to feed the birds.
5. Sunflower seeds are delicious and easy to grow.
Birds will eat any kind of sunflower seed, but if you are growing them to enjoy yourself, look for confection varieties for their plump delicious seeds. Varieties to try are Gigantus, Mammoth, Snack Seed, or Titan. Read this post for more information about growing edible sunflower seeds.
Signs that the sunflower seeds are ready to harvest:
- The flower petals dry out and begin to fall off.
- The back of the flower begins to turn from green to yellow and eventually brown.
- The seeds are plump and developed.
- Left to dry on the stalk, the seeds turn from white to brown.
Learn more about growing and using edible flowers in this blog post.
Do you have problems with bugs on your sunflowers? This post may be helpful.
6. Sunflowers take the heat.
Arizona summers can be brutal. The sunflowers don’t mind. They seem to thrive on neglect. Pops of yellow flowers brighten up a summer yard. Learning how to grow sunflowers is an easy way to add color and variety to a summer garden and yard. In Arizona, you can plant sunflowers from February through August to enjoy the blooms year-round.
The Perpetual Annual Flower Planting Calendar, available in my shop, helps you learn when to plant flowers in the low desert of Arizona and whether to plant seeds or transplants.
7. Sunflowers make excellent cut flowers.
- Single-stemmed types produce one flower per seed. The bloom size of single-stemmed types is determined by the planting distance between plants. If you leave more space, the blooms will be larger.
- Branching types have many flowers per seed. You should allow 1-2 feet between branching varieties.
- Look for pollen-less varieties for cut sunflowers. Varieties to try are Sunrich and Procut for single stem, and Teddy Bear and Moulin Rouge for branching varieties.
- Both types of sunflowers are suitable for cut flowers, depending on the sizes of blooms you prefer.
- Harvest the stem just as the petals begin to open; sunflowers will continue to bloom once cut.
- Remove all leaves below the top bloom.
- Cut blooms can last from 1-2 weeks depending on the variety.
Learn more about growing your own quick and easy flower arrangements in this blog post.
Want more information about gardening in Arizona? This blog post shares 7 tips for how to grow a vegetable garden in Arizona.
Arizona annual flowers planting guide helps you learn when to plant flowers in Arizona, and whether to plant seeds or transplants.
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Very nice and informative thank you
Thank you so much. Thanks for commenting!
you are just great
ebi from Iran
gardener
Thank you for reading and commenting. Happy gardening!
I never have luck with sunflowers if I’m lucky to plants will come up at of a whole bag each do you have any advice for me?
Email me
Birds may be eating your seedlings, be sure to cover seeds until they sprout and are 3-4 inches tall. Other issues may be bugs (rollie-pollies) eating the seedlings – you may have to pick a different spot or transplant there when plants are 3-4 inches tall. Soil temperature is also important, sunflowers prefer warm soil.
I am planting sunflowers for the birds . I feed them I just wanted something different for their diet .
How often do I water my sunflowers. This is the first time I’ve ever planted sunflowers. They are growing and are about 1 to 2 inches high. I usually water daily in the morning. I look forward to your advise
Diana
Sunflowers are pretty tough plants. You may want to skip a day or two between watering as the sunflower grows to encourage roots to go deeper. Keep an eye on the plant, if it looks wilted once the sun goes down or in the morning it needs more water.
Is there a sunflower variety that is particularly best suited for the Phoenix, AZ summer heat?
Nearly all varieties do really well here. Choose the one you like. If there is one that you love one year, be sure to save seeds so you can plant it again.
Thank you so much for this great information! You mentioned that sunflowers do better in rich soil- do you have any suggestions for preparing the soil before I plant? I am preparing to attempt to transplant sunflower seedlings I started indoors (our rabbits and squirrels here kept eating them up when I started them outside earlier this summer). I live here in Phoenix. 🙂
Adding compost to the soil is always a good choice. Best of luck to you.
My seeds started out well and now two of them have been attacked. I checked on them this morning and it was fine but this afternoon it looks like something has strangled it. I had this happen last week too. Any ideas??
Could be pill bugs or birds. Both can be problems. Protect from birds with netting. Pill bugs or other insects can be tricker – you can wrap the stems with newspaper as a barrier.
Hola. I’m wondering if a five gallon container is big enough to grow sunflowers (including Mexican Sunflowers)? If so, how many sunflower seeds per pot? Thank you so much for the beauty & generosity of your website! Take care!
Hi! Yes that would be large enough. For large sunflowers and Mexican sunflowers I would thin to one plant. For smaller varieties you could have 3-5 depending on the size.
@Angela Judd, Muchas gracias!
Thanks for this article! I am having an issue with insects on my sunflowers. They are small, kind of buff colored and on the top of the leaves. I’m not sure what to use to control them. I hand wipe them to remove them and have sprayed with a water and dish soap mixture.
Do you recommend a certain spray to control these? I have also noticed green flying insects around them. I leave those alone.
Thanks! Sue
If they aren’t damaging the plant too much, I wouldn’t worry about them. If they are causing damage, you could spray them off with water. That is as much as I would recommend doing.
This was more helpful than anything I’ve found previously! Thank you!!
Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad it was helpful.
What is the best kind of sunflower to plant along my garden bed to provide afternoon shade for my tomatoes and cucumbers?
I like branching sunflowers https://sh2543.ositracker.com/159509/9151/url_25919
How do you stop the squirrels from eating you baby sunflowers?
Barrier methods are the most effective; squirrels are persistent. You may try starting them indoors and planting them out when they are a little larger.
Hi – I’ve grown Mammoth sunflowers for years, and I love them! I’d like to try branching sunflowers this year, though, in hopes that they bloom longer. What varieties do you recommend?
I love this one from Renee’s Garden.
Hello, I grew Mammoths this year, and they looked so beautiful and they grew so TALL. But now every single on is drooping. They look sad. What could be the cause? Is it because they’re ready to be harvested?
Right – Mammoth seed heads get heavy and they droop over as they near harvest time.
hi! I am wanting to plant some mammoth sunflowers but their location would be close to my 4 citrus trees, 5 feet exact from the citrus trunks, in the ground. I’d hate to kill either plant and curious if these two are compatible or avoid? I saw on one website they said sunflower roots would invade citrus tree roots but nothing else. thank you for all your info, love your YouTube videos! thank you!
Sunflower roots won’t harm citrus trees. When it’s time to remove the sunflowers cut them off at the base and leave the roots intact.