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sunflowers

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by char75803 on June 11, 2006 04:10 AM
Hi, I planted some mammoth sunflowers, and up untill now, they have been doing very well. But now some of the plant's leaves are turning brown and brittle. Someone told me that was normal, but I just want to be sure. Most of my flowers are really big and have been doing so good. But I am afraid that now I may be doing something wrong. Not all of them are turning brown like that. But a few are. Please help.
by peppereater on June 11, 2006 06:58 AM
Mine do that, and they do very well, indeed, so I never bothered to find out why. If they're just bottom leaves, it could be a normal part of the life cycle. Also, once they stop flowering and the seed starts to get really ripe, the plants die, if I recall. As long as it keeps on getting blooms, and most of the leaves seem healthy, my guess is that they're fine.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by char75803 on June 11, 2006 07:37 AM
Well, I have pics of those too. It is not happening to all of them, but on some, almost all of the leaves are doing that.
by peppereater on June 11, 2006 08:55 AM
quote:
Originally posted by char75803:
Well, I have pics of those too. It is not happening to all of them, but on some, almost all of the leaves are doing that.
Ahhh...that's probably not good. Do you know how to check for spidermites? Hold a sheet of white paper under the leaf and flick the leaf hard. See if there are tiny red dots on the paper. Another possibility is a fungus. Are the plants crowded? Ahve you had a lot of rain, or watered with a sprinkler much? Post those pics if you can.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by eClaire on June 12, 2006 08:03 AM
i planted these for the first time this year - do they get more than on flower per stalk? I thought it was one bloom per stalk, but wanted to confirm

thanks! by the way - my bottom leaves are looking yucky too, but the rest of the plant looks great on most.

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Claire
by eClaire on June 12, 2006 08:04 AM
that should say "one" not "on"...ooops!

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Claire
by peppereater on June 12, 2006 09:12 AM
Claire, there are so many varieties of sunflowers. Some get multiple flowers, but my experience has been that with the mammoth types, they just get the one huge bloom. Many birdlovers grow these and save the heads once they mature. They put them out in winter one at a time and watch the birds pick them clean.
I looked at some of my sunflowers yesterday, and some leaves were infested with aphids, others with caterpillars. There are "friendly" sprays I could use on these pests, but I'm not worried...my sunflowers thrive every year, and I have enough room to let them come up from seed as volunteers each year after the first, and I just look for the thickest stands and mow down the stragglers! I have several varieties, and the goldfinches feast on them all.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by hoboandsqueek on July 19, 2006 03:07 PM
First post, 1st time growing anything.
Hello, I have grown several mammoth sunflowers from seed. Some were 8=9ft high! Problem: when flower opens up, insects (look like baby yellowjackets) consume the flower and head and plant die right away, how to prevent these "bugs" from eating my flowers, I had hoped to get some seeds to eat myself! (Greedy little ......!) [dunno]

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