SUNFLOWERS FROM SEEDS

 

 

Much to my surprise, sunflowers seeds were not easy to germinate.

The following germination methods did not work for me –

Pre-soaking in 40C water, overnight, then drained to sow on soil

Sowed in moist soil after cracking its pointy tip

Uncovered pot – seeds exposed to light

Sow on moist tissues

 

The availability of good seeds seems to be the main problem.

The only thing to do was to keep trying different brands and even parrots’ feed until seeds germinate.

 

GERMINATION NOTES

Pre-soaking one hour drained to sow

Best soil mix is gardening soil with perlite and  lightly covered with cocopeat to keep the seeds constantly moist

Warmth and darkness

Maintain a moist environment until true leaves showed (4 leaves)

 

 

TIP – Sowed on soil rather than tissue (zero) yield better germination and seedlings.

SEEDLINGS CARE NOTES

 

Stage 1 – Seed just sprouted.

TIP – Do not overwater as the leaf may rot.

Place in the shade not in full sun yet.

 

 

 

Stage 2 – The new sprout sought the sun even before the seed leaf showed.

 

 

Stage 3 –  At this stage, these seedlings are delicious as microgreens as well.

 

 

TIP –  must transplant to bigger permanent pots as roots developed mass rapidly from one week old.

 

 

A fabric pot can be considered to allow roots to breathe.

 

 

 

To my surprise, in spite of the shallow soil depth, more flower buds were observed on the above plant on May 31, 2019.

However, the first flower head wilts soon after.

 

 

 

 

 

A nursery purchased sunflower had 11 flower heads.

Flowers bloom when there is ample brutal sun.

If there is insufficient sun, do consider grow light else this plant will not grow well.

 

 

 

The mature plant is a sun and water lover. If the soil is dry, leaves drooped.

Its easily rescued when soaked in a water bath.

 

 

“Stowaway” Seedling

An errant seed germinated in this small fabric pot as well.

We expected it to die in the natural course of growing, but it did not.

In fact, this little “giant” variety seedling survived the strain of sharing a small pot and still bloom.

 

 

 

 

Hydroponic SUNFLOWER

Some seedlings were transferred from soil to be tested in a passive hydroponic method (KRATKY).

 

 

 

 

Surprisingly they were slower to bloom than the soil-based plants.

 

 

 

Sunflowers are heavy drinkers. In small containers like this, we refill the reservoir daily.

 

 

The above reservoir was unable to support this plant and was transplanted to a bigger reservoir.

 

 

The best thing about growing in the liquid base was the ease of the transplant and zero stress to the plant.

We just need to move the netcup to another fitting reservoir.

 

 

The hydro plants were a giant variety and I was heartened by their flowers because they are able to bloom in liquid base.

I hope to apply this method to big bush plants like blackberries or huckleberry, thus doing away with big heavy pots of soil indoor.

 

 

 

Whether soil or liquid-based plants, it was observed that their stems were quite weak and needed support to stand upright.

However, this may be due to the shallower pots that I used.

 

 

 

These plants seem stronger with support to lean on than directly on metal grills which get hot on sunny days.