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As cut flowers
A good cut flower. You can pick flowers with long
or short stems, as plants are hardy and will regrow.
Best harvested when just opening/opened. Grow
plants up through horizontal trellising mesh to
ensure they don’t fall in strong winds, and to
encourage long, straight stems.favourites
‘Black Magic’ and ‘Chocolate’ (C. atrosanguineus):
havebeautifuldeepmaroonshadesandchocolate
scentedflowers!
‘Seashell’: a mixture of pink, maroon and white shades,
with tubular-shaped leaves.Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus)
As I write this from summer Italy, sunflowers are all
around us, with whole fields of them in full bloom!
Sunflowers are an obvious favourite to grow and
provide quick rewards, with some varieties marching
to flower in barely 10 weeks. Sunflowers are amazing
attractors of bees and beneficial insects, with new
research showing that when young, they move to re-set
their position towards the east every morning, thus
catching more warmth and attracting five times more
bees and other insects than they would if facing west!
Note though that when mature, they stop turning and
mostly permanently face east (so if you plant them in
the eastern side of your garden, most will finish with
their backs to you).
They tolerate hot and dry climates well, and do
best in well-drained soils. Cultivars vary greatly, and
can be single or multi-headed. Sunflower cultivars can
be selected for the quality and edibility of their seeds,
for their use as a cut flower, or simply for their beauty
in the garden.Growing notes
At the beginning of the season, it is best to plant seed
at 2–3 week intervals, to ensure continuous flowering.
Plant as closely together as the cultivar will allow so
they support each other as they grow. Also, cultivars
vary greatly in size, so check before selecting.
Best grown directly from seed, young plants
will normally tolerate a light spring frost. Plant from
spring to early summer in temperate and arid/semi-
arid regions, and all year round in the tropics and
sub-tropics.As cut flowers
An amazing cut flower and wonderfully diverse. Cut
when the flower is formed and just before it opens for
most extended vase life. Note that many varieties are
branching so you will get smaller flowers forming offthecentralstem.Additionally,if you harvest the main
flower stem, you will often get a few small flowers that
grow from the remaining stem.favourites
‘RoyalVelvet’:deepburgundycolouredflowers.
‘Teddy Bear’: multi-headed variety with a chrysanthemum-
type bloomTop: The fluffy sunflower ‘Teddy Bear’.
Below: ‘Royal Velvet’ sunflower.PHOTOS: ALAMY.