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Sunflower Bouquets: Quick and Easy!

Grow a bouquet in 60 days or less!

Cut sunflowersDo you want to make someone happy? Grow them a bouquet of sunflowers. The bright blooms are guaranteed to bring a smile.

Today’s sunflower varieties bloom fast. You can grow a bouquet in only 50–60 days! It’s remarkable!

Sunflowers are easy to grow. I like growing them with my kids. The plants shoot up from the ground like rockets, growing more than an inch a day! The flowers look beautiful in a vase, filling our home with warm, radiant colors.

Get to know the ProCut® sunflowers. These are varieties grown by professionals. They bloom fast and are nearly foolproof.

ProCut® sunflowers have strong stems that grow 60 to 72 inches high. Each stem has a single bloom, which is 4 to 6 inches across.

The blooms are pollenless. This feature extends the life of the cut-flower in a vase (up to two weeks in plain water) and prevents messy pollen falling on your furniture.

The most popular variety is ProCut® Orange. It’s a classic! The vibrant orange petals contrast beautifully with the earthy, dark brown centers.

New colors are released every year. You can grow ProCut® sunflowers in shades of burgundy red, bright yellow, light purple and fiery gold. The latest ProCut® varieties have creamy white petals—perfect for mixed bouquets.

Other areas of emphasis in breeding have led to the development of varieties that resist downy mildew disease and varieties with more uniform and upward facing blooms.

Sow the seeds 4–6 inches apart, 1/2 inch deep. Thin to 6–12 inches. Greater spacing leads to bigger flowers and thicker stalks. Some gardeners plant their cut sunflowers in beds, spacing the plants 6 x 6 inches in the bed for smaller blooms, and 12 x 12 inches for large blooms. Harvest for bouquets when the flowers show the first signs of opening.

Grow a bouquet of sunflowers this summer. Let’s spread some happiness with our friends and family!

Written by Tom Kalb, Extension Horticulturist, North Dakota State University.
Source: Byczynski, L. Advantages & Disadvantages of Various Types of Sunflowers. Published in the Flower Library of Johnny’s Selected Seeds. 
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/flowers/growers-library-flowers.html. Accessed July 2020.
Photo courtesy of cocoparisienne from Pixabay. 

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