Easy Start Plant Guide for How to Grow Sunflowers in Containers
Lifespan | Sun, Soil, and Water Care | Planting and Germination |
Annual | Full sun (>8 hours daily) and rich, nutrient-heavy soil with frequent watering | Poor transplant candidate prefers direct sowing. Fast germination and growth |
Why grow sunflowers in containers?
Sunflowers are a great plant to start your gardening journey and continue planting year after year. They grow amazingly fast, making them a great candidate for a kids’ garden, attract lots of beneficial pollinators to the garden, and the seeds produce a wonderful nutritious snack if you grow the roasting variety. They can be the “fourth” sister in the classic Native American companion garden, providing the corn, bean, and squash crops protection from squirrels and birds by acting as a sacrifice plant and keeping them away from the other crops. Multiple parts of the sunflower plant are edible, making it a beautiful flower with lots of utility.
Picking the Right Variety and Container Size
If you’d like to grow sunflowers in containers choose a micro size or dwarf variety. These will grow between 6-48″ tall so they won’t need as much space as the bigger varieties. For the best results with these smaller types, the best pot size to grow these flowers is a minimum of 8″ deep and 12″ in diameter.
How to Harvest Sunflowers in Containers
You can eat the leaves of a sunflower like any other cooking green! To harvest sunflower leaves, choose sections free from pests and diseases, cut them, clean them with a salt and vinegar solution, and tear out the ribbed stem in the middle. Sunflower leaf greens can be eaten raw in salads and wraps, or sauteed and added to an omelet. They can also be boiled and cooked up like collard greens or spinach.
You can boil, saute, or steam up the immature sunflower bulbs before they open up and bloom. The taste and texture is similar to an artichoke. This is one method I did not try last year, but in 2024 I want to experiment with sunflower blooms.
If harvesting the plant for seeds, wait until the flowers have boomed, and the heads are drooping down. The backs should be all yellow or brown and the petals should be crispy. The seeds will be loose and easy to pop out without much effort if they are ready to harvest. Striped sunflower seeds can be eaten raw or seasoned and roasted for a snack, while black oil sunflower seeds can be pressed to make sunflower oil.
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