Sunflowers-A Complete Guide to selecting and growing

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Congratulations on your interest in growing sunflowers! The sunflower is one of the most widely recognized flowers of all time. It emits a sense of warmth and joy. This large flower blooms in a wide variety of yellows, pinks, and even reds. With a little care you will be rewarded by the most noble of garden beauties. Ask anyone who has grown them and their eyes will light up with excitement. The many varieties have something to offer gardeners of any age regardless of space limitations. So let's get busy and you will have a garden to be proud of in no time.

Selecting a Growing Location

Your first must decide on where you want to grow your sunflowers. Consider the following:

Sun and Wind Exposure - As the name implies, sunflowers like the sun and do best when in a sunny location. A general guideline is to pick a spot that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. If planted in a shady area, sunflowers may stretch to reach sun and thus will require additional staking support as they will if planted in a windy area. Tall varieties are often planted on a fence line to help with support.
Orientation to Other Plants - Particularly with the taller varieties of sunflowers you will want to consider how they may block sun and wind from your other garden plants. This can be a good thing if you are trying to shelter particular garden plants from too much sun or wind, but you must also consider if your sunflowers are going to negatively impact your other sun loving plants when selecting the best spot for your new friends. Some people feel close to sunflowers because they are at eye level and bend to look you in the face. Sunflowers will face east at maturity so this may also be a factor you want to consider in their placement.
Days to Maturity - Most sunflower varieties have a maturity between 75 and 110 days. The nice thing is that you can grow them from the last freeze until winter sets in again. Consider planting a few each week to insure staggered blooms and enjoyment throughout the growing season. Stop planting 75-100 days before the first winter freeze is expected in your location.
Annual or Perennial Varieties - By far, most people plant annual sunflowers, but if you only plant annuals you are missing out on some beautiful long term friends. Perennials may take one to three seasons to begin producing blooms, but they are well worth the wait and can be great producers of flowers for years to come.
Color Coordination for your Garden - Most people are familiar with the classic giant sunflower with one large yellow flower with a dark center. Fortunately for us sunflower lovers, there are many different colors and varieties to choose from. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers for this reason. Take the time to select and place different size and color varieties as you paint the canvas of your new landscape. Some gardeners like to use larger varieties as the backdrop and progress to mid sized and then small varieties as they get closer to the house or other public sitting areas.
Plant size and spacing - If you want to have the most success with sunflowers and want your plants to be healthy it is generally best to follow the recommended spacing when planting. This will dictate how many plants you can have in a given area. Pay close attention to the spaces you intend to fill with sunflowers when you are selecting which varieties to plant.
Containers, Planter Beds or Open Space - With the increasing popularity and development of dwarf varieties more people are planting sunflowers in containers than ever before. Containers smaller than six inches are generally not recommended. Even if the plants can tolerate them, they dry out too quickly. In small six inch pots you generally will only want to plant one plant of a dwarf variety that has a mature height of three feet or less. Generally in this small pot the dwarf plants will not reach more than two feet. If you are planting in medium or large pots, eight inches and larger, you can slightly bend the rules for suggested spacing for the variety and plant three individual plants in each pot. It is still better to stick with small varieties (less than three feet) for medium pots and small or medium (three to five foot) varieties for large pots. It is absolutely critical that your containers have drainage holes. Sunflowers need well drained soil.
Is Pollen a Factor - Most people do not have problems with the pollen from sunflower gardens. If you or someone you know is particularly sensitive to pollen you are in luck. Many varieties of sunflower are pollen free.
Uses intended for plants - Consider if you would like to have a steady supply of cut flowers from your plants. Some varieties are particularly good for long lasting cut flowers. With flower preservatives in the water and weekly water changes some varieties can last for several weeks. Are you a bird lover? Birds are particularly fond of the seeds produced by some varieties and butterflies are attracted by others. Do you intend to harvest and roast the seeds? Sunflowers have a myriad of uses. In the garden the stocks of large varieties can be dried and tied together to form rustic trellises for other plants and make good poles to help support plants including future generations of sunflowers.
Soil and Weather conditions - In general you will do best to adequately prepare the soil in transplanting, but some varieties of sunflower are particularly good in poor soil conditions. Some are particularly strong for extra hot conditions and periods of dry soil. If your plants are going in a windy area you may want to consider bushy, branching varieties and/or be prepared to steak your plants.

The following is a list of some of the popular varieties of sunflower and gives characteristics for each plant. Only one Perennial variety is listed and only a few dwarfs, but their certainly are more varieties of each available at seed and plant vendors.

Mammoth Russian Striped - Will do well in poor soil. Tolerates heat and dry conditions. Average head size is 10-15 inches, but they have reached 20 inches. Plants should be spaced 12-18" and grow to 8'+. Days to Maturity - 100-110.
Moulin Rouge - An excellent red with dark disc. Single flowers have a dark deep red color that are 5-7" in diameter. These 6' plants are very vigorous and make any garden a show place. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 6'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Skyscraper - Heat and drought tolerant. Great for bird feed and roasting heavy yielder! Will do well in poor soil. Will do well in poor soil. Stake to support plants. Large heads attract birds. Makes a great ornamental backdrop. Plants should be spaced 12-18" and grow to 12'. Days to Maturity - 75.
Ruby Eclipse - Showy ruby red or pink flowers display lemon yellow tips. Ruby Eclipse Sunflowers are pollen free; ideal for cutting. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 6'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Dove Hybrid Black Oil - Frequently used in bird seed mixes and called "black oil" sunflower seed. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 6'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Sonja - Flowers and more flowers. Sonja Sunflower blooms so heavily it can be hard to spot foliage. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 3.5'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Dwarf Sunspot - Great plant for the family garden, children love it! Full 10" heads on short stem. Heads last up to 5 weeks. Plants should be spaced 12" and grow to 2-3'. Days to Maturity - 80-90.
Teddy Bear - Small bushy sunflower grows to 18-36", double yellow blooms 3-6". Good cutflower. Plants should be spaced 12" and grow to 3'. Days to Maturity - 80-90.
Autumn Beauty - Mixture of fall colors on 5" flowers. Multiflorous type. Heat and drought tolerant. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 5-6'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Velvet Queen - Will do well in poor soil. Stake to support plants. Multi-blooms on numerous side branches. Small seed is favored by birds. Not a large seeded (roasting) type. Great for cut flowers, borders, backgrounds and temporary screens. Plants should be spaced 18" and grow to 4-6'. Days to Maturity 100-110.
Italian White - Plants have many branches. Multiple 4" flowers have brown centers surrounded by a band of buttery-yellow and then white pointed petals. Not a good cut flower. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 5-6'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Lemon Queen - Produces multiple 4" blooms. The lemon yellow petals are slightly pointed, and surround a dark chocolate brown center. There is also a Perennial Sunflower by this name. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 7-8'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Indian Blanket - Resembles Autumn Beauty with darker colors, multi-heading. 4-5" blooms. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 5-7'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Red Sun - Multiflora type bears medium size 5-6" blooms in shades of deep dark orange-red with a hint of yellow around the brown center. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 5-6'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Tithonia Torch - Dahlia like flowers in orange, yellow and brilliant red. Trim faded flowers to promote longer blooming. Plants should be spaced 24" and grow to 2-5'. Days to Maturity - 90.
Maximillian - Perennial - Makes a bold statement! Strong stems are covered with dozens of sunny yellow, 2-3" blooms from midsummer to frost. A favorite of birds and butterflies! Long-lived plants thrive in heat, drought and even poor soil. A natural for cutting. . Plants should be spaced 2-3' and grow to 4-7'.

Selecting Your Sunflowers

The foundation from which your sunflower garden is built starts with the seeds. Starting with seeds from reputable vendors will insure that your seeds are fresh, healthy and have a high germinations rate.

Quality Products

You can find the best online sources for quality seeds and other products mentioned in this article at http://www.SunflowerOcity.com

Varieties

Each of the vendors mentioned above has up to a dozen varieties and combined they carry over thirty different varieties for you to enjoy. Remember to plan out your garden and carefully consider the spaces you intend to occupy with sunflowers and the varieties that will do best for those spaces. Don't limit yourself to only a couple varieties. By selecting and growing a wide variety of sunflowers you will find out which ones you enjoy best and are most successful growing in your area and can improve your garden from one season to the next.

Seeds or Plants

Sunflowers are easy to start from seeds, but some people prefer to start from bare root or potted plants particularly for perennial varieties. If you decide to use this method for starting all or some of your sunflowers you will just need to successfully transplant the small plants to your containers or garden. Plants are available from a few excellent online vendors who guarantee delivery of healthy plants to your door.

Starting From Seed

If you decide to start your sunflowers from seed which is the most common way you will have several methods to consider each of which has advantages and disadvantages.

Direct seed method - Sunflower seeds can be sowed directly in the garden or containers, and in some instances this may be a viable choice. One problem is that seeds and small plants are much more susceptible to falling victim to pests and predators than even two or three week old transplants. In many areas the birds or rodents will dig up your seeds and have a feast before the seeds even get a chance to sprout. It may be more difficult to care for the germination and care of the young plants in your garden because seeds and sprouts must be kept moist and not be allowed to dry out. One other possible disadvantage is that you will always have some seeds that don't make it to becoming viable sunflower plants. If you are trying to have uniform planting in your garden it may be easier using transplants that have already been selected as strong prospects. For these reasons and others it is generally recommended that you germinate your seeds before transplanting in the garden or containers.
Using Professional Seed Starting Trays - Some people prefer to start many seeds at a time in professional seed starting trays which are a plastic tray with separate compartments for each plant and a drip pan. With this method you can start as many as three dozen seeds in one try and be able to weed out the weak ones and get the sprouts off to a great start before planting them in your garden where they will face harsher elements and predators. With this method you will want to use a potting mix that is specifically designed for starting seeds. These mixes are finer than even premium potting mixes and contain all the nutrition that your sprouts will need to make it through their first two or three weeks. This method is certainly acceptable, but it too has some draw backs. There is a chance even if you are careful when transplanting the plants from the container that you will damage the root system and stress the young transplant. It is for this reason that the following method may just be the best one available.
Starting with Peat Pots or Pellets - Peat pots are small pots that are made of pressed peat moss. They can be filled with seed starting mix and planted in the garden when your transplants are ready. There is however, an even easier alternative. Peat pellets are an ingenious innovation that consists of a compressed peat wafer inside a biodegradable mesh case. When the pellet is soaked in water it swells to five times its size and makes the ideal starting medium for your seeds. You simply push a seed or two in the top of each soaked pellet place them near a sunny window and keep them moist. You can even buy these with plastic trays that have clear lids on them and act as mini greenhouses for sprouting your seeds. With these lids you often won't even need to add additional water to your pellets until after your seeds sprout. Once the seeds sprout you just remove the lid and continue to water your sprouts until they form their second set of real leaves, generally two to three weeks. Then just plant the bags in the garden.

Transplanting to the Garden or Containers

Transplanting is an exciting time. It is when you take the young plants that you have so carefully germinated from seed and place them in your garden where with proper care they will take off like wildfire. There are a few important considerations as you begin this phase of your sunflower adventure.

Spacing Considerations

New gardeners seem to be particularly prone to overcrowding their plants. Whether this is caused by a desire not to sacrifice any weak stragglers, or a desire to get as many plants in a given area as possible it is a serious mistake that will hamper your ability to grow quality plants. It is important to select the strongest young plants to include in your garden. As a general rule the seeds that germinate first tend to grow faster and produce stronger plants, by being picky and only selecting perhaps the top 50% of your starts to transplant into your garden you will be helping to insure a strong crop. Next, it is extremely important to try to follow spacing guidelines that are specified on seed packets for each variety of plant. Failure to do so will result in less healthy, rangy plants that are struggling to compete with one another for food, water, sun, and root and air space.

Preparing Soil

Sunflowers can be grown in a wide variety of soil types and conditions. Regardless of the type or condition of the soil into which you will be transplanting your young plants, it is a good idea to specially prepare the immediate area where each plant will be placed. A good recommendation is to dig a small six inch by six inch hole for each plant. You will then fill this hole with specially prepared soil for your transplant. This soil should consist of premium potting soil with time release fertilizer mixed in. Premium potting soil will either be labeled as such or will be one of the more expensive mixtures. With potting soil you generally get what you pay for. Do not use soil labeled as top soil or garden soil. These blends compact too easily. The premium potting soil will hold moisture and allow your young plants root systems to develop quickly. The time release fertilizer will help to feed your plants for up to four months and add extra insurance to your regular fertilizing schedule. If you prefer to grow your plants organically you can use crab shell meal or fish pellets instead of the time release fertilizer to add to your soil.

Caring for your Growing PlantsFertilizers - What Kind and How Often

If you have started your plants well they will have a good foundation for growth. You will want to have a regular feeding program for best results. Plants require three main nutrients to be healthy: nitrogen which promotes healthy foliage, phosphorus which promotes flowers and potassium which is for strong roots and overall vigor. All fertilizer products list the ratios of these three components in the order given above. Thus a label that reads 10-15-10 signifies that 10% of the contents is nitrogen, 15% is phosphorus and 10% is potassium. When your plants are in the growth stage, before their flowers start to form you can promote healthy foliage growth by fertilizing every two weeks with a chemical or organic fertilizer that has a nutrient sequence of 20-10-10 or one with the same ratio. Once your plants begin to form flowers you will want to switch your biweekly fertilization to a product with a ration of 10-20-10. One last tip! Sunflowers are generally hardy plants, but you can help to keep them pest free by spraying them with a mixture of ½ table spoon of liquid dish detergent to one quart of water each week. Good luck with your new friends in the garden and always remember that time spent in the garden is not subtracted from your life.

Dr. Christopher J. Kline is a master gardener, author and sunflower specialist living in Paradise Valley Arizona. He is also an editor for http://www.SunflowerOcity.com You can reach Chris at Chris.Kline@sunflowerOcity.com

Select Wine tips-basic advice on choosing a wine with dinner

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Wine has played a kingly role in the history of the world.

People have drunk it in majestic rituals and it has lived in the palace cellars. It has survived through the medieval times and has been used by the priests to cleanse the body and cure devotees their common maladies. Whereas it used to be enjoyed only by kings and noblemen, today wine is ubiquitously consumed by people all over the world. A buffet or a fine dining experience will not go well without a Chardonnay, for instance. Most people drink wine to loosen themselves up, after a hard day's work. Others imbibe wine as a form of epicurean art.

A meal will always be more enjoyable if paired with a great tasting wine.

The complication arises, however, as soon as you peer into the wine list and begin to squint in confusion. Of the thousands of wine choices now available, which of them should you set on the dinner table along with your steak? Which should you drink to wash your tongue after a fruity dessert? The common dictum is to drink white wine with fish, chicken and other white meat, and to complement a rich lamb or veal dish with red wine. This idea is tried and tested and people have agreed that it works. But do you know not all types of red wine are for rich, red meat alone?

Red wine is indeed majesty of liquor.

Not only does it go well with almost all kinds of meal, it also plays an essential role in our health. The latest news is that red wine actually combats Alzheimer's disease by preventing the build-up of plaque in the brain. Red wine contains resveratrol (a natural compound) which scientists say fights the slow degeneration of the nervous system's components as it combines with other anti-oxidants. Pinot Noir, for instance, has been discovered to be chock full of resveratrol. It has been reported, too, that this red wine compound can also help battle other degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.

Now let's go to the nitty-gritty.

Basically, there's a wine for every meal but the bottom line is to rely on your sense of taste. Different people have different palates and even the connoisseurs cannot agree on one rule when it comes to the perfect wine for a dish. However, the distinct characteristic of each wine should dictate which meal it should harmonize with.

For example, Cabernet Sauvignon being a varietal wine (which is a blend of one dominant grape and other less distinct flavors), Petit Sirah and Bordeaux can jibe well with red, heavy meat dish such as lamb, beef (most dish with spicy sauces) and other intense-flavored cheeses. Because of its full body and strong tannic taste, it can balance the feeling of greasiness in the cheese and the meat.

Sweet, sour, fruity, acidic, smooth sharp, crisp - Oh my.

You can recognize a particular wine's characteristic through its acidity, its body, the tannic content, its sweetness, its aroma as well as its overall balance. Chardonnay harmonizes with poultry and cheese. There are many variations of this white wine that can run from sweet and fruity to sour. It can even be paired with seafood such as oysters and can be served as aperitif. Chenin Blanc is also a white sparkling wine and goes well with fish and chicken. Most fish meals usually get paired with white wine but there are exceptions since fish dishes are prepared differently. The general rule is that wines that blend well with fish and other white meat contain high acidic flavor. The sharp, crisp hint of acid enhances the flavor of fish like a drop of tangerine juice would.

Pasta dishes & wine - An easy pair.

Wines that work well with pasta dishes are Merlot and Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio. Pinot Noir makes a wonderful combination with steaks. It is a Burgundy wine that gets darker as it ages. It also matches well with fowl whereas Merlot is a good chocolate complement.

Advanced pairing, great combinations to enhance flavour.

Desserts are best paired with Rieslings, Port wines, or Madeira. Most oriental food and white meat dishes won't go wrong when matched with a Riesling. Spicy Mexican foods on the other hand are best eaten with Shiraz. Shiraz (also called Syrah) is a versatile wine; it complements many popular meat dishes such as chicken (tenderloin, rib or prime) as well as pork, beef and duck. If you like our regular fast food dishes like burgers and pizza or any meal with red spicy sauce Red Zinfandel is the perfect complement. A medium bodied wine such as Red Zinfandel will always taste better with red meat while White Zinfandel which is a newly-developed wine in the market goes in tune with pasta with light sauce, fish and most light dishes.

If you like ham and sausages a wine called Gewurztraminer will serve you well. This is also best for Asian foods and is known for its fruity flavor. Another wine that is in perfect harmony with pasta chicken and fish is the Sauvignon Blanc, more popularly called Fume Blanc. Most grilled dishes like fish and vegetables as well as exotic spicy foods go with Rose. Turkey served on Thanksgiving should be paired with a white burgundy wine called Chablis. If smoked salmon is served on the dinner table, it's best to enjoy sparkling wines.

Waiter, I'll have the ... how do you say it?

Apart from knowing which wine to drink along with your meal, it also essential to know a few important vintner's terms. If you're buying wine you must recognize whether it's brut, demi sec, sec or off-dry. These terms refer to the sweetness of the wine. Demi sec wines are a bit sweet and brut wines are not sweet at all. You will have a fair idea of the sweetness of it before actually opening its cork if you look at the label that's printed under the brand of the wine.

Because wine selection can be baffling, it is essential to understand some rudiments that you can use in your own dinner hosting or restaurant visits. If you have no idea at all as you gaze at the wine menu board which wine is what, ask your local chef or connoisseur. These people have fair enough experience when it comes to wine tasting, preparation and serving that you can bet they can give you what you are asking for. Once you have received some expertly advice, do the wine tasting yourself. Remember that one person's taste bud is different from another so you will have a notion of what really appeals to your taste.

The purpose of a good wine is to enhance, not bury.

A wine's purpose is not to overwhelm or overpower the dish served with it, but to complement, highlight or contrast its strengths and hints of flavor. For most people this requires a really fine and discerning taste bud. Some wines take time to mature and in this process their tastes change and either mellow out or grow more intense. You should be aware of this aging process of each wine. Some of these wines absorb the flavor of their storage barrels such as oak. Other wines can have complex taste through their color and smell. The rule is to sniff the wine for a good nose (a vintner's term used to denote the overall smell of a wine, including the aroma and the bouquet) and if you like the nose, it is highly likely that you will also adore its taste.

"Wine Connoisseur" is just a friendlier term for "English Major".

It is important to experiment with different wines. Connoisseurs may have a fairly good idea of what wine suits their taste, but you can't ask for a connoisseur's help each time you will prepare a meal with a wine. Experimenting helps you open up your wine vocabulary and expand your wine knowledge. It will give your taste buds a chance to explore the art of wine expertise. When trying out many different wine brands and learning each wine characteristic, make sure that you take note of each wine's uniqueness. In other words, a single wine tasting session does not make a wine taste consistent. The next time you taste red Bordeaux, for example, when paired with another dish, it will not be the same Bordeaux wine that you used to know. As you expand your tasting capabilities, you tend to forget a particular wine's characteristic too. That is why keeping an olfactory note of any wine is a must for anyone wishing to explore its complexity.

Your nose knows good wine, trust it.

Finally, trust your own taste when it comes to selecting wine either for aperitif, for dinner or for dessert. Do not be concerned about the "right" or the perfect wine. The key is to find which will complement and highlight the taste of your meal best. As you taste more wines and learn more, your confidence will grow. Don't shy away from new wines; instead give yourself the opportunity to be an expert yourself. Always exchange wine information with your local restaurateur/wine expert/wine merchant. Try new wines and mix them with various meals. You can break rules for as long as you as a host and your guests will enjoy your discovery. The point is, wine is an enjoyable meal complement and a dinner table's best friend. It should always stay that way.

Sean M. writes for several how-to, self-help related sites including those about his long time passion of drinking a little Pinot Noir and not looking foolish. For more of his work visit the wine selecting website, or directly download the wine tips [http://www.wineselecting.com/pdf/wine-tips.pdf] free ebook.