Sunflowers

'Most' people have done this at some time or another. Put the sees in individual pots, keep watered and leave on a sunny windowledge, as soon as they are past the first real leaves stage plant them out into bigger pots in a compost /soil mix and put in a sheltered (ie frost free) spot. When they get to about 8 inches high or so plant them out in a sunny sheltered position in decent soil, keep them watered and feed them. The shelter is so they don't get blown over, you could put canes on them to give them support. This is assuming you are growing the giant ones which are fun. If you want more flower and less falling around the place you could grow the shorter ones.

I used bamboo canes left over from when I had to get rid of the bloody stuff before it lifted my entire patio.

I grew absolute monsters last year, they were in those seed bombs which I was given as a Christmas present. They were about 9 or 10 feet high!! So you could just toss seeds into the ground and they will probably grow. But I think you'd need to leave that until you're guaranteed no more frosty nights.

Previous years I've done the little pots on the windowsill thing, and it's fun nursing them along.

I planted some last year, cheekily used the seeds you get for birds , I didnt think they would grow but astonishingly they did. I planted in small pots in march , kept near windows and then replanted into larger pots and then out side late April.

The big problem I found was giving them support , so used bamboo canes. I had some success, given I was just experimenting , watering is crucial and I just used compost , also kept weeds out . One thing I did learn was its advisable to remove dead leaves that remain at end of stems.

But of fun and color .

i have a few going in the garden now, although two of them already perished, I think the wind snapped them. Just started them indoors and then put them out at about 30cm high. This is my first time so I'll be happy if even one of them make it to maturity.

I think two keeled over because I never got around to staking them. Couldn't take their own weight!!

You'd want to have seen the size of the rootballs when I went to clear the bed 😱

They looked good but yes the support bamboo important and timing when you put them in, I actually made an entire support rack , a little over the top but it was fun and they brighten up my garden .

Yes agreed, frost risk gone now I think, I'd just maybe plant in small pots, keep inside to let seeds sprout, plenty of water, compost and keep near windows.

Handiest things are the little fibre pots you can get in a garden centre (or the likes of Woodies, probably) that you can bring your seedlings on in on the windowsill, and then just stick the whole thing in the ground. You get a sleeve of about 30 of them for a fiver or so.

Those ones in the pic I posted earlier had flower heads the size of dinner plates! Not sure if it comes across in the photo just how huge they were.

I was all set to cut them for a vase (I was going to be away for a bit so would miss the best of the flowering) - but when I saw the bees absolutely glued to them, I couldn't do it! So I left them until they all fell over, then cut the heads off and left them on top of flower pots - they rotted in, the birds fed on the heads all winter as far as I know, and now I think I have a maze of new little plants growing from the old heads...... I haven't done a thing, though, including not protecting them from frost, so they may not come to anything....

But they're brilliant food for the bird/bee life, and so pretty, and they just cheer me up to look at them.

Everyone should grow them!

All 30 what? If you mean 30 pots of sunflower seedlings, no, they need space, once they are established plant them about 50cm apart.

Mine were over 11 feet tall last year with multiple flowers on the heads. Up to 6 flowers. They really have to be staked well because they topple over very easily. We had over 100 flowers spread around the garden. Really lovely but very difficult to manage. This year we are growing the smaller variety, still beautiful but without the maintenance.