Sunflower Compact Sonnet
Helianthus annuus
Packet: 10 seeds
Pollen-free hybrid, untreated seed
Please note - natural variation: Sunflowers are living plants, and blooms grown from the same packet can differ a little in petal colour, shape, height and flowering time. These traits are also shaped by your soil, temperature, sunlight and any other sunflowers growing nearby, so some natural variation from plant to plant is normal and to be expected.
Compact Sonnet is a branching sunflower on a shorter, stocky frame of around 60 to 80cm. Each plant carries a succession of bright yellow-orange blooms marked with a distinctive rust-coloured ring around a dark centre, rather than one big head. The compact height suits smaller gardens, borders and large pots, while the branching, pollen-free habit gives many clean cutting stems over a long season.
Sowing
Sow seeds direct about 15 to 20mm deep once the soil has warmed above 15°C, or raise in pots and plant out before the roots wind around. Germination takes 7 to 14 days. Space plants about 40 to 50cm apart to let each one branch.
When to Sow - Australian Climate Zones
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Cool & Mountain: October to December
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Temperate: September to January
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Subtropical: August to February
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Tropical: April to August (dry season)
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Arid & Semi-arid: September to December
Care
Grow in full sun in free draining soil. At 60 to 80cm the stocky plants rarely need staking. Water deeply while they grow away, then ease off once established, and feed fortnightly with a seaweed solution. Pinching out the growing tip early brings on even more side stems for cutting.
Harvest
Expect the first blooms from about 60 to 65 days, early for a sunflower. Cut stems for the vase just as the petals lift away from the centre, early in the morning, and keep cutting to bring on more.
