California Plants

Sunflowers are quite an amazing annual. They can grow in sunny, somewhat foggy, and partial shade areas. They can be anywhere between 2-14 feet in height, with one to ten flowers on a plant. They grow fast, and many tolerate substandard soils. They are also fairly drought tolerant. Many are so tough, wind does not bother them. They can be used for a privacy screen between your house and that of a neighbor. To do this, we recommend not just one row, but 2-3.

We recommend planting sunflowers in pots or a clearly defined area first. That way, when they sprout, they can be replanted to exactly their final location.

After a sunflower is done blooming, we recommend cutting the head and drying it to keep the seeds. Another way to keep the seeds for later growing is to put a thin cloth around the head and twist tie it. Or, of course if you like you can let birds eat the seeds when it is done flowering.

Below is a photo taken today in our San Francisco California garden. These sunflowers are 3-7 feet in height. They would have grown taller, but we experimented here with letting them all grow in small pots until they were 1-2 feet tall, and then planted them out. This meant they were used to being confined so now will not grow as tall. That is a good way if you like to control the size of your sunflower plants. Click here to see our favorite sunflowers.

One of Many Sunflowers Blooming Right Now in our SF, CA Garden

Sunflowers in our San Francisco California garden

There are a number of tips I provide here to help you deadhead your annuals to get repeat blooms in your garden at home.

1. Use your fingers or pruner to pinch off your dead plant blooms. Depending on ths thickness of the plant, you can choose one or the other.
2. Not only does deadheading annuals help get repeat blooms, but it also keeps your garden more fresh and clean looking. The more often you deadhead plants by removing spent blooms, the more profuse your blooming will be in time.
3. As you deadhead plants, collect spent blooms and compost them. This will do three things, including keeping the garden in clean shape, providing compost in the future, and preventing seeds from sprouting.