Sunflower Early Gold
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.
Early Gold is an early-flowering golden sunflower, essentially a quicker version of the classic single-stem type that blooms a week or two ahead. Plants stand around 1.2 to 1.4m and carry one large, forward-facing head of yellow-orange petals around a dark centre. Pollen-free, so the blooms cut cleanly for the vase, and the early habit lets you fit a sunflower crop into a shorter warm 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 30 to 45cm apart.
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. Stake the plants in an exposed spot. Water deeply while they grow away, then ease off once established, and feed fortnightly with a seaweed solution rather than heavy nitrogen.
Harvest
Expect the first blooms from about 62 to 72 days, a little ahead of most. For the vase, cut the stem just as the petals lift away from the centre, early in the morning. Sow a fresh short row every couple of weeks for a steady run of early flowers.