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Sunflower growth and transplantation advice!

wakeshinewakeshine Posts: 975
 
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 Hi again! I have so many planting projects going on as I got a bit carried away as a beginner. I appreciate all your help so far. I planted loads of sunflower seeds in plastic and paper cups and they have really taken off!! Have my the seedlings now outgrown the cups? I am a bit scared about killing them if I try to plant them outside. I moved one a few days ago from the plastic cup into a small terracotta pot and I did not realise that sunflowers have long taproots and how long it actually was. It was like very weak string. When I transplanted it, it seemed to break in places so I moved it quickly. Seems to be doing okay at the moment but it is very tall and I don't know if it is alive or just being held up by the chopstick. How are you supposed to transplant such a flimsy root? You can't hold it properly, position it, or press it as per fibrous roots? How deeps should I plant it also?

Also when I started, in some cups I put the compost to the top, and some only halfway because I did not know which one was correct. Will the cups with only half compost not produce as tall sunflowers due to the restricted room for the taproot? If I become brave enough to eventually plant them in the soil outside (and if the weather ever actually gets warmer!), will they re-gain their original growth?

I know sewing sunflower seeds in cups is something 5-year olds do in school but I have never done it! So I would really like to not lose any of my sunflowers!! Thinking of dotting them around the garden in all the bedding spaces on fence sides, and some in a large empty area on the raised rockery bed...the latter is rather exposed but if I stake them will they be okay? (that is if I have not killed any of them while transplanting!!).

Thanks in advance.

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  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Top marks for enthusiasm, but I don't think you can expect a huge plant with a long  taproot to grow in about two inches of compost, the plant and root will be weak, I would try and tip them out into your hand without disturbing the roots and put the whole lot , plant and compost, in a bigger, deeper pot, dropping the plant well down before covering with the new compost.

    Plant out when it's much warmer at nights, and they have grown into big sturdy plants. 

    The slugs will have them as well, so watch out for that.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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  • wakeshinewakeshine Posts: 975

    Thank you. Gosh I really don't have the time to keep re-potting, increasing the pot size. I'm thinking of putting them outside this week as I don't have time after this and the weather is supposed to be warming up. Thanks for the slug warning too!

  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267

    You could plant some out now providing they are covered. I use plastic pop bottles cut in half with a hole in the top or top left off. 

    You will be surprised, I planted out about a dozen a couple of weeks ago, and there's been frost here in the NW, they are growing out off the pop bottles. 

    Don't plant them all out, you'll then have some in reserve just in case the first lot are caught by a late frost.

  • wakeshinewakeshine Posts: 975

    Zoomer44, really, are the sunflowers so sensitive? I don't even have enough plastic bottles or the time to do this. Well I can keep about a quarter of the batch inside but I will have to plant the rest (about 15 I think) out this week as they definitely want to be out of the cups. They are growing at a fast rate, especially American Giant and Sunshine Giant. I won't be able to cover the really tall ones. Maybe I can put them all in the ground, four big tall stakes and a big clear plastic sheet around and top of it all? Or those plant fleece things? Will this work? I have some.

    Another option would have been to put into my growhouse but it's full with Dahlia tubers. This is in the car port, so semi-outside, but it's still pretty cold there. I probably shouldn't have even put the Dahlia tubers in there but I don't have anymore space inside on window sills.

    I did not realise all this sunflower malarkey was going to take so much time!

  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267

    They are sensitive to frost.

    Posts and plastic sheeting will help protect them.

    I'mplanting more out tomorrow but will be protecting them.

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