Sunflowers are the perfect addition to every garden, balcony or doorstep. They are a joyous flower, which is surprisingly simple to grow. Whether you’re new to gardening or an experienced horticulturalist, we can show you our top tips for growing a sunflower to bring you joy this summer.

Together TV and TV Gardener Danny Clarke have been teaching thousands of people up and down the UK how to grow a sunflower from seed through the Sunflower Challenge. Novice gardeners were sharing their proud photos, and seasoned horticulturalist were sharing their own tips for pest control and more.

Sowing, growing and nurturing a sunflower is super simple! Danny Clarke can show you how within under a minute. We’re sharing his super handy videos, so you can grow a sunflower this year:

What you need:

• Sunflower seeds
• Pot with drainage holes
• Soil
• Water
• Plenty of patience and encouraging words (for you and the sunflower.)

 

Let’s get started!

1. Sowing your Sunflower Seeds

Week 1

To sow your sunflower seed, grab your pot with drainage holes and fill it with soil. Use your finger (or a dibber) to create a hole in the soil which is an inch deep. Pop your sunflower seed in the hole and cover with soil. Water the soil generously.

Top tips:

• Get creative with your nursery plant pots and upcycle yogurt pots, fruit punnets or even toilet rolls!
• You can try germinating your sunflowers seeds in damp kitchen roll instead and transferring them to soil when you get a shoot.
• Only put one seed per pot!
• Keeping your sunflower inside your house at this early stage keeps it safe from the outside world.

2. Top tips for watering your sunflower

Weeks 1 - 4

Use the touch test to see if your seedling needs water. If the soil is damp, no need to water.

Going away? There are some easy ways to keep your sunflower seedling watered whilst you’re out for long periods:

1. 1. Make a cloche
   1. If you cut a plastic bottle in half, you can create a mini greenhouse to keep your seedling wet, warm and happy.
2. 2. Fill the drip tray with water
   1. Get a shallow dish and fill it with water, then place your sunflower pot in the dish. This way the sunflower will absorb what it needs
   2.  

3. When to start hardening off your sunflowers

Weeks 4 - 6

Wait until the sunflowers have their first true leaves before you move them outside. If the evenings are cold, bring your sunflowers inside overnight. Blistering and burning on the leaves might suggest that it’s still too cold for the sunflower so make sure you bring them inside.

4. The best way to transplant your sunflowers

After week 6, when it's big enough

As your sunflower grows, it’ll need more space to grow bigger! Be gentle when easing out the hardened off seedlings. The soil should be wet, create a nice deep hole and keep your sunflowers as upright as possible and then give it a good water again after. If you don’t have a garden, plant your sunflower in a bigger pot and find a nice sunny spot for it. How about at a local community garden?

5. Top tips for staking your sunflowers

From whenever it's outside and needs support

Stick your stake two centimetres from the stalk and wrap your twin around the stake and stalk in a figure of eight to stop stalk and stake from rubbing against each other. Fix your twine at the bottom and top of your sunflower for extra sturdiness.

6. Fertilising your sunflower

You can feed your sunflower fertiliser to make it grow bigger. Tomato fertiliser and liquid seaweed are the best for sunflowers - full of iron! Follow the instructions on the fertiliser package for how to dilute it and repeat every two weeks.

7. Harvesting your sunflower seeds

When the sunflower head starts to droop, it means the head is heavy with seeds are that ready to be harvested. You can either collect the seeds (pop a bag over the head and gentle rub out the seeds) or leave it for the birds and beasts. The stalk can be cut up to create an insect hotel or dried out and reused as a stake!

Keep us updated on your sunflower growing journey, we love to see your photos and you can send them to us by email via [email protected]. We’ve got more gardening tips from the Garden Rescue team and you can also catch up on our top gardening shows via our streaming service.