South African sunflower’s tend to flood the road seasonally and I always want their joy near me. I struggle to find sunflower seeds but I was lucky one day when I went to the nursery opposite my favorite one. I bought packs of short and tall sunflower seeds.
The short sunflowers were for my little backyard and I wanted to share a few steps I took that helped them.
I planted the seeds into a smaller pot to let them germinate, I stored the pot in the house by my window and occasionally allowed sunlight to come in and watered them as I brew black tea each morning. If leave your seeds germinate outside, random birds can come and enjoy a meal at your well being’s expense, I have the files.
They started getting bigger at week 2 and I had to change them to a bigger pot which could now sit outside. I covered it with a mat that prevents direct contact with the plants but allows for sunrays to freely pass through.
By week 4, they were getting too tall for the pot and this is where the fun begins
I had to replant them into the soil, always clean the patch to make sure no new grass roots are growing underneath. I recommend you add potting mix to help with this transition for the plant.
Water them regularly, until they are strong. And remember not all of what you planted will grow at the same time. I added mine to my flower bush and it looked so yellow !
The taller sunflowers I reserved for my stand in Sosha,
I did these very badly 🙂 ! I just put the seeds in the soil and hoped for the best.
I was banking on the amount of sun exposure experienced in Soshanguve. I only saw them monthly and my heart sank when I missed their popping season.
The flower’s peaked and it was beautiful too experience
The stand got hit with a pest, the floods dropped a few of the beams & we are in repair mode at the little Nguni Garden.
Sunflower’s are a true joy at bloom and I learnt that there are different sun flower seeds for different seasons especially the rainier seasons.
We are currently rehabilitating the soil & rebuilding post the rain damage. We didn’t react on the pests in time and that cost us a few plants.
Wish us all the best !
Nguni Gardens
