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When Do Sunflowers Bloom? How Long Does the Season Last?
Pete Ortiz
Last updated:
Many people love sunflowers, so when can you expect to see these big yellow flowers in full bloom? Also, how long can you expect each sunflower to bloom, and how can you plant them to see them in bloom even longer?
We answer all those questions and more for you here, so you’re in the perfect position to know when to keep your eyes open for these plants and when and how to grow them.
When Do Sunflowers Bloom?
If you want to view beautiful sunflowers in your yard or garden, you should expect them to bloom in the summer. Sunflowers can bloom anytime from July to October; it all depends on when you plant them.
Therefore, we recommend staggering the planting of your sunflower plants. This way, you can get a consistent bloom over a longer stretch of time compared to if you plant them all at once.
Image Credit: Ganeshkumar Durai, Shutterstock
How Long Does a Sunflower Season Last?
Since sunflowers can bloom anytime from July to October, if you stagger the initial planting correctly, you can have a 4-month season when you can enjoy these beautiful flowers in full bloom.
Do note that a single sunflower plant will not bloom for 4 straight months.
How Long Do Sunflowers Live After Blooming?
If you stagger the planting of sunflowers correctly, you can get a 12-week bloom, but that’s not because the same flower keeps blooming or blooms again. Sunflowers only bloom once, and once they do, they die in about 6 to 12 days.
Once this happens, you should cut off the head of the sunflower and store it in a small container where you can catch the falling seeds.
Image Credit: Piqsels
Top 5 Sunflower Growing Tips
Now that you know more about what to expect from a sunflower season, it’s time to figure out how you can get them to that point. Here are five different growing tips to get your sunflowers to bloom big and beautiful.
1. Give Them Sun
It’s right in the name, so ensure that you plant sunflowers somewhere they’ll have plenty of access to sunlight throughout the growing season. At a minimum, sunflowers need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day to thrive. Pick a great spot for them, and let them soak in the sun’s rays each day.
Image Credit: suju, Pixabay
2. Pick Well-Draining Soil
Like many plants that need plenty of sunlight, sunflowers need soil that drains well. This keeps the roots from getting waterlogged, which can lead to all sorts of problems for sunflowers. Use well-draining soil to help these flowers thrive.
Image Cedit: BearFotos, Shutterstock
3. Put Them in the Ground
While you can grow select sunflower varieties in pots, most sunflower plants do better if you plant them directly in the ground. This gives their roots more space to grow, which typically translates to sturdier and healthier sunflowers.
Image Credit: BBA, Shutterstock
4. Give Them Space
This depends on the type of sunflower that you’re growing, but even dwarf-variety sunflowers require 1 foot of space between each other. If you’re growing larger varieties of sunflowers, they can need as much as 3 feet of space between plants.
Image Credit: Johnnys_pic, Pixabay
5. Give Them Enough Time to Grow
Look into the specific variety of sunflowers that you’re trying to grow, and ensure that you give them plenty of time to grow before they’re supposed to bloom. Most varieties take between 80 and 120 days to fully germinate and will grow until they bloom.
This means if you’re expecting them to bloom in July, you should plant them at the end of March and the beginning of April. If you want a later bloom, you should plant them around mid-June. If you want a consistent bloom, you can plant various ones 1 or 2 weeks apart between those two dates!
Image Credit: Piqsels
Final Thoughts
Now that you know more about sunflowers, you can either start planning when you want to plant your own or circle on your calendar when you can expect to start seeing them in nature.
They’re beautiful and unique flowers, and it’s a real treat that you can see them during so much of the year!
Pete has been working in the trades since high school, where he first developed a passion for woodworking. Over the years, he has developed a keen interest in a wide variety of DIY projects around the home. Fascinated by all sort of tools, Pete loves reading and writing about all the latest gadgets and accessories that hit the market. His other interests include astronomy, hiking, and fishing.
As the founder of House Grail, Pete's primary goal is to help consumers make educated decisions about DIY projects at home, in the garage, and in the garden.
