Sunflowers Provide Color In Fall

One of the most easily indentified plants is the sunflower. Many varieities, each with its own distinct flower coloring and height, highlight any flowerbed or garden.

Though highly valued economically, the tall, graceful sunflower has long been denied it's rightful place in the landscape. Few plants can boast better color, yet the sunflower nods its head as though ashamed of its own beauty. Sunflowers make excellent temporary hedges and screens and provide a showy backdrop for flowerbeds while dwarf cultivars make excellent borders and color beds.

Plant seeds after danger of spring frost has passed. The seeds can be either sown directly on the open ground and then lightly raked in, or planted individually in a hole twice as deep as the width of the seed. Germination occurs in 10 to 14 days at temperatures from 65-85 F . Sunflowers need full sun and will bloom from late summer until frost.

Thin the seedlings once they reach 8 inches in height. Spacing depends on the variety and the purpose of planting. Sunflowers will grow in even the poorest soils and don't require additional fertilization, but a broadcasting handful of a complete fertilizer will encourage stronger growth and more flowering.

Several varieties of sunflowers have been introduced especially for cut flowers. The following list was taken from the Shepherd's Garden Seeds catalog:

** Floristan- has bi-colored flowers in reddish-brown petals with yellow tips around a dark brown disc. It grows to a mature height of 3 feet.

** Inca Jewels- ranges in color from bright yellow, banded gold to orange, burgundy and bi-colored bronze. This variety has a high tolerance to heat and drought and grows 5-8 feet tall.

** Sunrich Lemon- has heavy single flowers with lemon yellow petals around a black disc. This variety is pollen-less and grows 4-6 feet tall.

** Sunrich Orange- this pollen-less variety has deep golden petals with black discs. It grows 4-6 feet tall.

** Italian White- has pale lemon-custard petals with brown centers and grows 5-8 feet tall.

** Music Box- this variety has multi-branched dwarf sunflowers. The 4-inch flowers range in color from yellow to gold to a gold-bronze bi-color. It grows 2.5 feet tall.

** Golden Pheasant- has densely petaled double flowers with multiple flowering on branching stems and grows 4-6 feet tall.

** Sunbeam- this variety closely resembles the famous Van Gogh sunflowers and grows to a height of 4-6 feet.

** Sundance Kid Dwarf- this variety is the earliest to mature, in just 45-50 days from sowing. The 5-inch flowers come in a variety of petal and disc colors. This variety grows well in containers, beds and borders and reaches 15-18 inches tall.