sunflower varieties Archives - Mother 2 Mother Blog

Today, I’m sharing garden tips on drooping sunflower heads. I grow sunflowers every year for pollination and food for wildlife. Unfortunately, I always have drooping sunflower heads. When I first saw the drooping sunflower heads, I was disappointed. I grow a variety of sunflowers from Russian Mammoth, which I have grown up to 14 feet high to a smaller variety like Lemon Queen. Regardless, I end up with drooping sunflower heads.

Why You Have Drooping Sunflower Heads:

Seeds are Maturing – Once sunflower heads have completely bloomed and pollinated, the sunflower head will become heavy with seeds. As a result, the heads will bend over. One good thing about the bend head is that they will drop seeds. Hopefully, they will germinate the next growing season. The American Goldfinch love the seeds. They arrive early morning and feast throughout the day. Also, you can harvest the sunflower heads and save the seeds for roasting or adding to your birdseed mixture. I do both. And, I share with fellow gardeners.

Weren’t Planted Deep Enough –Sunflowers need to be planted deeply so they can hold up tall stalks and heavy flower heads. Once they droop, there isn’t a lot you can do. If you can tie up the head without damaging it, give a try. Otherwise, add organic matter to your soil. The amendment will help the soil absorb water. Once the plant has been planted, water deeply every 4 – 5 days to encourage deep roots. This will produce a strong, thick stalk with can hold up the heavy heads. I have had to stalk a few to keep them from falling over. I always keep metal t-post around. They are great in supporting the heavy stalks.

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Sunflower Heads are Heavy – I plant a combination of giant sunflowers like the Russian Mammoth and the Grey Stripe. The picture above is the Grey Strip. My Russian Mammoths and Grey Strip grow around 9 – 11 feet. The heads are massive, about the size of a dinner plat. They stand erect once the head appears, but it’s not usual for the head to end up drooping because it’s heavy with seeds. The head holds approximately 1,000 seeds, and weigh about 2 – 3 pounds.

Lack of Water – If the heads are drooping and the leaves are wilting, your plant probably needs water. Adding mulch or straw around the stem will help it to hold water. Water deeply, and make sure they are receiving water when needed.

Sadly, I have found that my smaller sunflower plants have drooping heads too. I love when those little smiling faces are up and shining in the sunlight. This is a Lemon Queen (above) which droops too. It is much smaller that the Russian Mammoth and Grey Strip. It only grows to about 4 or feet and the heads are about the size of a saucer. This sunflower is one of my favorites.

So, not matter what variety of sunflowers you grow, you will end up with drooping sunflower heads. It’s all a part of mother nature’s plan

Check out my post on sunflower varieties. Although, you may end up with drooping heads growing sunflowers is a great activity to do with kids. They also provide food for wildlife, make great summer bouquets and beautiful wreaths and crafts once dried. You may also like Gardening for Wildlife.

Today, I’m sharing backyard flower garden tips on best sunflower varieties for wildlife. Unfortunately, the bird populations has declined over the years. Pesticides and herbicides, the decline in insects, climate change and removal from their natural habitat are major factors in their decline. Today, I’m going to share the best sunflower varieties to grow in your backyard garden to help sustain our wildlife.

There are other steps you can take to help sustain wildlife, but today we’re focusing on solely on sunflowers. I add them to my vegetable garden every year. I love opening my curtains in the morning and seeing their smiling faces. Furthermore, I love it even more when I see my backyard birds feasting on the sunflower seeds. If you don’t have a vegetable garden, add them along a fence line or in your flower gardens.

Sunflowers attract pollinators which include bees, butterflies, honey bees, wasps, moths, flies, and beetles. We need pollinators to keep our ecosystem going. There are some sunflowers that are produced to not attract pollinators. Many gardeners do not want pollen dropping on their tables and mantels when they cut sunflower bouquets.

Here’s a few of the Best Sunflower Varieties for wildlife:

Lemon Queen – These beauties find a place in my garden every year. I love the lighter color of the petals versus the regular yellow petals found on most sunflowers. They are lovely planted among Autumn Beauty sunflowers. The contrasting colors are stunning.

Velvet Queen – Another beauty that finds a place in my garden. It’s sports deep red, almost burgundy colored petals.

Red Sun – I’ve never grown this particular variety, but I try it in my 2020 summer vegetable garden.

Chocolate Cherry – This sunflower has deep, dark, reddish brown petals that look beautiful with any yellow/lemon sunflowers. Plant a few.

Autumn Beauty – I have planted this variety, and I love it. It has multi-color petals in colors of gold, orange, yellow, red, and burgundy. It looks great with the deeper color sunflowers.

Evening Sun – Fortunately, this beauty goes into my garden every year. I plant it close to the Lemon Queen for the color contrast.

Henry Wild – I’m not familiar with this variety, but it’s great with pollination so it’s alright with me. I am going to do my homework, I may want to plant a few.

Russian Mammoth – So, I can’t live without this sunflower in my garden, and neither can my American Goldfinch. It is massive. The fence behind these Russian Mammoths is six feet. I’ve had them grown as tall as 12 – 15 feet.

Earth Walker – I haven’t had good luck with the Earth Walker. I planted a few this summer, but they failed to germinate. I haven’t given up though. I’ll try again in the upcoming growing season.

Mexican – Unfortunately, another variety that has failed to grown in my garden. I’ll be trying this variety again too. They’re lower than most sunflowers, they’ll make a nice border in front of some of the taller varieties.

Planting any of these sunflower varieties for wildlife habitats will help create or sustain them. Start browsing the internet or catalogues for seeds that interest you. Make sure they sunflower varieties are good for pollination. You may also like: 7 Uses for Sunflowers and Soak Up the Rain.