Are Sunflowers Like Goldfish ?

[Nyboy]

They only grow to size of container. I had some black oil sunflower seeds from bird feeder sprout in a shallow window box. I left them to see what would happen. i figured they would soon outgrow box and fall over. They are about 18 inches and now forming flower heads. I did not think they would flower that small.

 

[thistlebloom]

The ones that sprout in my yard don't get very big either. About knee high with a salad plate size bloom.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if they are black oil sunflowers i think they do something like a bonsai & will restrain their growth to the container they are in. i have some in my garden that are about chest high & about to bloom for me. i didn't bother to pull them since i know the birds love them, but make a mess out of them.

 

[thistlebloom]

I think @seedcorn has said that they're hybrids so you might get anything?

 

[seedcorn]

Correct. Commercial sunflowers are bred to not be gigantic tall for couple of reasons. Ease of harvest and the more plant you have the more nutrients and water that will be needed to support the vegetation which all they sell is the seeds so that is all they want.

But all plants will stunt back due to nutrients, sizes of container, water, etc.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some sunflower varieties grow 3 feet tall, some can top 12 feet. Some sunflowers have one head, some have several. I'd imagine your sunflower seeds were mechanically harvested so they will grow a variety of a size and growth pattern that is easy to mechanically harvest. I have no idea what size or growth pattern that is.

But I think Seed really hit it with container size. Taller sunflowers need deeper and more developed roosts or they will fall over. With a limiting container the roots can't grow so the plant stunts. Yours is probably root-bound.

 

[Smart Red]

The sunflower farm near here has flowers at about 3 feet tall in the open field. No where's near the huge plants my squirrels plant for me.

 

[Nyboy]

2 are flowering about the size of a half dollar. The johnie jump ups are looking real ragged. Thunder storm almost took them out, needed to give support to them after. Have impatiens waiting since June to go in window box.

 

[Smart Red]

Ooh, ooh, ooh, did I mention that I found several tiny violas bravely smiling in my 'seedling starting' bed on Sunday? I was so happy to see them. There are also some black-eyed Susan flowering there as well. Like the other veggie garden beds, this one is nearly weed-free and so surrounded by tall weeds that I didn't see them until I was nearly on top of them.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep...they are like goldfish and will stay small if no room for a large taproot. And, if you have rock hard soil like I do, they can't put down a large enough tap root to mine for moisture and nutrients to support a big plant, so they stay too small in that manner as well.