Description

Sunflower Dwarf Sunspot (Helianthus Dwarf), also know as Sunflower Single Sunspot, is a classic yellow sunflower, with big seed filled heads, on dwarf bushes. An annual plant with a large daisy-like flower face. 

Sunflowers are heliotropic, which means that they turn their flowers to follow the movement of the sun across the sky east to west, and then returns at night to face the east, ready again for the morning sun. Heliotropism happens during the earlier stages before the flower grows heavy with seeds.

Sunflowers are best known for attracting helpful pollinators and detoxifying contaminated soil.

 

Benefits

Sunflowers Attract Helpful Pollinators

• Their vivid colours and large outer petals attract bees, one of natures top pollinators. This includes honeybees and bumblebees, which are quite likely to pollinate other plants in your garden while they are around. They are attracted to the hundreds and thousands of tiny florets inside the sunflower that contain nectar and pollen for the bees to feed on.

Sunflowers Attract Birds

• Not only are birds nice to look at and listen to in your garden, they're great at getting rid of bugs that would otherwise be harmful to your plants. The seeds of sunflower are very attractive to birds, making them a great addition to your garden.

Sunflowers Help Detox Contaminated Soil

• If you live in an urban area, sunflowers are helpful in detoxing soils with heavy metals. Sunflowers are known as 'phtomediators', which means they are able to absorb toxic heavy metal contaminants and poisonous chemicals in soil. These metals include lead, zinc, chromium, cadmium, copper and manganese.

Sunflower Seeds Limit Weed Growth

• Sunflowers contain an 'allelopathic' chemical that other plants don't particularly like. This is beneficial because it can help inhibit weed growth in your garden, however it can weaken the growth of plants that you do want to grow. Beans and potatoes are particularly susceptible to this chemical. 

Sunflowers Can Make Good Companion Plants

• Sunflowers can be a helpful companion to some vegetables. Lettuce is a plant that enjoys a good amount of shade, sunflowers are able to grow quite tall, making them a good option for shade in a sunny area. Dill would make a good companion to sunflowers, as it repels aphids that are attracted to sunflowers.

 

How To Use

• Season: Spring - seeds sprout best when the soil is warm.
• Germinate: 5 -10 days
• Depth: 2 - 4 cm
• Spacing: 25 x 25 cm
• Harvest: 17 - 26 weeks
• Height: 40-60 cm
• Flowering Season: Summer
• Exposure: Full Sun

Ideal Growing Environment:

• Sunflowers are best grown in direct sunlight. 
• Sunflowers enjoy well draining soil. Soil should not create pools after rain.
• Sunflowers prefer soil that is not too compact. They have long tap roots that like to stretch out, so the bed needs to be around 60cm deep and 90cm across.
• Sunflowers are not fussy when it comes to soil pH. Plant sunflowers in soil with a pH between 6.0 to 7.5.
• Sunflowers like to eat so their soil needs to be very nutrient rich with organic matter.
• A light application of fertilizer mixed in at planting time will encourage strong root growth to protect them from blowing over in the wind.
• If birds begin scratching around in sunflowers before the seeds are ready, consider spreading a net over the plants until the seeds have germinated.

 1g seeds = approx. 24 sunflower seeds

 

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