Sunflower power!

[bellahpereira]

This year, I decided to plant about 20 sunflowers in my backyard! They certainly did a good job of attracting ants, birds, and other wild life. I was able to pick out most of my sunflower seeds and roast them though! Here is what my tallest sunflower looked like

 

[SpringBreeze]

What a beautiful sight that must have been!!! Sunflowers are such happy flowers. I think when they're blooming, they'd make every morning beautiful, especially against a blue sky, like the one in your picture.

And the emoticon goes so well with your picture. I'll add one too:

As a side note, thanks for the other info. I not a big fan of ants. So, this is good info to store.

 

[sunflower]

I obviously was drawn to this thread. I love sunflowers. I tend to plant them against our back fence so that they have some support and the ants don't bother anything else. They're usually drawn to any aphids that may be on the plant. They don't usually damage the plant at all.

 

[bellahpereira]

What a beautiful sight that must have been!!! Sunflowers are such happy flowers. I think when they're blooming, they'd make every morning beautiful, especially against a blue sky, like the one in your picture.

And the emoticon goes so well with your picture. I'll add one too:

As a side note, thanks for the other info. I not a big fan of ants. So, this is good info to store.

They were gorgeous! They grew to be 8 feet, so most of the neighbourhood could see them! It was amazing. It was really sad to have to cut them down though, but it was time, haha. And yes, the ants are a serious issue regarding sunflowers. They completely take over your garden. It's ridiculous. And it's not just one type of ant either, you need to prepare for all kinds. Including those big ugly ones, haha.

 

[bellahpereira]

I obviously was drawn to this thread. I love sunflowers. I tend to plant them against our back fence so that they have some support and the ants don't bother anything else. They're usually drawn to any aphids that may be on the plant. They don't usually damage the plant at all.

I planted them against a fence too but mine were on the side of my property. It's not a very good idea if you plan on walking by them as they started to topple over. The ants that were attracted by my sunflowers really damaged my plants! They made them completely rotten on the inside (though they might do that on their own, who knows). But they definitely spent their time eating away at my leaves, giving my plants less sun, which wasn't good. I love sunflowers but I don't think I will be planting them next year due to ants. lol.

 

[sunflower]

I read somewhere that if you put vaseline around the stems the ants won't go up to the head of the sunflower. I would imagine if you did it low enough, they'd stay away from the leaves too. Maybe try it on a couple and see how it works. I may do that this spring, but right now, we're in the process of job hunting, so not sure if we're going to be living here then. If so, then I'll definitely try.

 

[Amalia]

It looks great! In my country sunflowers had a very bad year. That will affect our economy in a very bad way...

 

[bellahpereira]

I read somewhere that if you put vaseline around the stems the ants won't go up to the head of the sunflower. I would imagine if you did it low enough, they'd stay away from the leaves too. Maybe try it on a couple and see how it works. I may do that this spring, but right now, we're in the process of job hunting, so not sure if we're going to be living here then. If so, then I'll definitely try.

That's really awesome! I'll try it the next time I plant some sunflowers! Seems like it would dry off though, so it would probably need to be reapplied often. I'll look into this more but if it keeps the ants away, I'll do it as often as needed!

 

[maddie]

Beautiful. I wish I could have some sunflowers. They are really happy and cheerful looking flowers we used to have them in my parents home. The seeds were used as bird feed. Parakeets really love sunflower seeds. They would often peck and spoil the flowers themselves if we didn't watch out.

 

[claudine]

Bellahpereira, your sunflower is gorgeous and so big! I love sunflowers. It must be wonderful to have so many of them . I plan to grow some too

 

[Whitewolf2578]

I love Sunflowers, I once grew a Sunflower from one of those sunflower seeds you buy in the store, I should have taken a picture as proof. Granted it wasn't a strong looking sunflower, more of a runt as the seeds you buy in the store to eat are not made for gardening, but it worked.

 

[ACSAPA]

That photo of your tallest sunflower is gorgeous. Your garden must have looked amazing when they were in bloom. It sucks about the ants. I hate how destructive ants are to plants.

 

[Danyel72]

This year, I decided to plant about 20 sunflowers in my backyard! They certainly did a good job of attracting ants, birds, and other wild life. I was able to pick out most of my sunflower seeds and roast them though! Here is what my tallest sunflower looked like View attachment 281

Great job!! That sunflower is huge!! I have always loved sunflowers. They are just so tall and bright. They remind me of happiness. They have been my favorite for quite some time. I planted sunflowers a few years back, and then kind of got away from it. I think seeing this great picture has encouraged me to plant again !!

Thank you!
Danyel

 

[Twinsmommy31]

That sunflower photo is wonderful. You have done a great job. What was your secret? I really want to grow these plants around my home. Will it attract too many pest?

 

[IcyBC]

I love sunflowers too and I also planted them in the summer to attract wild life. They brighten up my day whenever I see them, and just very dandy.