My sunflowers! ?

Aren’t they all beautiful, some stunners on here. I’ve grown them for the first time this year and will do so again.

Mine broke in the wind yesterday so I have them inside when they die off will they still go to seed as I was hoping to save some for birds and next year

Our pea trellis nearly blew over today.

? ? <<smug emoticon>> I made tripods out of canes, lashed them around the stalks and then lashed a network of lightweight ropes around fence posts. Mine are still standing! Next door neighbour's are trashed though.

Ours karked it a while ago.

The birds don't seem interested.

Put, not out, damn predictive text! And that, not the!

Well, now it's my poor sunflowers we had strong wind over yesterday and last night, (not Mr P and I personally , you understand, just weatherwise) and they have broken! Even the supporting canes snapped .

So, I have cut off the flowers the could be salvaged and out them in a vase.

The other stems and heads have been put in the ditch at the bottom of the garden, rather hoping that they will self seed, would be lovely to have them coming up between the old hedge of hawthorn, holly, willow etc!

??????

Well done.
The best polysunflowers!

Well, I didn't win prize for the tallest, but did get the one for most heads I'm not a mutant, honestly!

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202008/medium-405163-20200816-164301.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202008/medium-314358-20200816-164321.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202008/medium-565458-20200816-164222.jpg

Monster Sunflower has finally shown her face! Her little sister is the height of my next door neighbour's conservatory gutters but Monster towers above her as you can see. I'm reckoning about 12 feet? The others are abou 8 - 9 feet tall.

If you let them ‘die off’, they self seed for next year and the birds enjoy them too. In France, they let them ‘die off’/fully ripen, then they’re harvested.

They look a lot better than mine, although the bees did like them.

There should have been more, but Mr Blackbird kept tweaking them out of the soil when they were small.

Looking good Phoenix; the multi headed ones are double value for money! As one head dies back, you can cut it off to allow the other one room. Keep the severed head for its seeds.

Hello all,

Calllistemon I did give them a dose of Miracle Grow once a week.

Measured on Sunday, tallest currently 8ft 6" , but someone else has one nearly 10ft

A lot of "mutant" ones with multiple heads.

Fingers crossed for you Phoenix

I love all your sunflowers! Gdcs have been growing them, too - one has succumbed to something, probably slugs, but the others are huge. Birds will be pleased with the seeds.

We were recently in France, Burgundy area, where there are lots of fields full of sunflowers, but some whole fields full were dying because of the drought. Very sad.

Our street has a sunflower competition started after the last clap for key workers. Seeds from over the road neighbours wee girl which she planted and gave each neighbour 2 small plants. One of ours is growing well, other not so but our direct neighbour's 5yo plant flowered today in the pouring rain admired by DGS2 when we got home sodden after jumping in puddles for an hour. Rain bouncing off the road but it was a ray of sunshine in the storm.

I hope you do win, phoenix.
They look very healthy plants.

Do you feed them with any fertiliser?

Beautiful display of sunflowers there ladies!

Did you see this sunflower maze on BBC news this morning? A large field of 6ft high sunflowers with Nhs logo cut through them. The farmer did it as a thank you tribute to staff who treated him. It takes an average of 45 mins to find your way through the maze. Admission charges going to Nhs. It looks stunning.
www.sunflowermaze.co.uk/

Mine are about 6'6" to 7' this year and I'm pleased with them for once. The bees love them too.
They are in a container but the ones planted in the garden beds haven't appeared at all.

Well done Phoenix, youve done well with those! If you watch them, they turn their faces to follow the sun and the bees just love them. I sowed a row of 10 along the boundary fence at the bottom of my garden and only 8 have survived; 2 having succumbed to slugs. They're all about to open flower very shortly but one is very much taller than the others and is still forming it's flower head. Soon as it flowers, I'll post a picture!

Ps.... save your flower seeds, once it's died back. Free seeds for next year.

The bees love them too

Wow - you're all growing some marvellous sunflowers. Mine are only about 5 feet tall, but so cheerful, I can forgive them for not growing like Jack's beanstalk

I love sunflowers and yours look great specimens phoenix & ginny. I have tried to grow the tall ones but they always seem to get eaten up by the slugs & snails. I grew dwarf varieties in pots a couple of years ago and they were far more successful.

Slugs got most of my sunflower seedlings.