How to grow ornamental sunflowers well? A detailed guide to planting methods
How do you grow ornamental sunflowers well? Please give an introduction to the methods. Ornamental sunflowers like a warm, slightly dry and sunny environment. The optimum growing temperature for sunflowers is 21°C-27°C during the day and 10°C-16°C at night. A temperature difference of 8°C-10°C is most favorable for stem and leaf growth. Loose, fertile soil is...
How do you grow ornamental sunflowers well? Please give an introduction to the methodsOrnamental sunflowers like a warm, slightly dry and sunny environment. The optimum growing temperature for sunflowers is 21°C-27°C during the day and 10°C-16°C at night. A temperature difference of 8°C-10°C is most favorable for stem and leaf growth. Loose, fertile soil is suitable, and for pot cultivation use a mix of potting soil, leaf mold and coarse sand.
Ornamental sunflowers can be sown throughout the year. For flowers in May, sow in February-March; for flowers in October, sow in August. Ornamental sunflower seeds are large, with 25-50 seeds per gram, and the optimum germination temperature is 21°C-24°C. In open ground, hill sowing is commonly used, while seedling trays use spot sowing; germination occurs 7-10 days after sowing. The germination rate is 80%-90%. Take the potted dwarf variety as an example. From sowing to flowering takes 50-60 days.
Choose a 10-15 cm pot for ornamental sunflowers according to the size of the above-ground crown. Fertilize once every ten days during the growing period, or use "Huiyou" 15-15-30 special fertilizer for pot flowers. For flowerbed display, pinch once, and the branches can produce 4-5 flowers. Potted plants do not branch, and a single flower is preferred. For tall-stemmed varieties, 20 days after germination, spray the leaves with a 0.25%-0.4% daminozide solution to control plant height. When sunflowers are cultivated in open ground, the long light hours often make them flower slightly earlier; while when cultivated in a greenhouse in winter, the short light hours delay flowering. Double-petaled varieties do not easily set seed, so hand pollination is needed at flowering to increase the seed-setting rate.
Growing ornamental sunflowers requires preventing and controlling powdery mildew and black spot; in the early stage of the disease, spray with a 500-fold dilution of 50% thiophanate wettable powder. Pests include mirid bugs and red spider mites, which can be killed by spraying with a 1000-fold dilution of 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate.
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