sunflowers in containers?

habitat_gardener · June 16, 2016

Has anyone successfully grown sunflowers (smaller ones, 4-7 ft.) in 5 gallon containers? I'm running out of space in the garden beds, or rather in the places not along the squirrel highway, and I'm wondering how they'd do in pots. I do have enough to experiment with.

It seems whenever I plant sunflowers in the ground, the squirrels think everything is for them!

Cole_Robbie · June 16, 2016

There are dwarf varieties of sunflower. I sold them in 1-gallon pots this spring. They would do great in a 3-5 gallon container.

whoose · June 16, 2016

They do fine in bigger pots. Let us know how thy do in your smaller ones.

Gerardo · June 16, 2016

I did a few in 5 gal, it works, although they are a bit shorter with slightly smaller and less abundant flowers. So yes it'll work, just make sure the container has a low center of gravity, or brace it against something.

At the same time I had some in a 30 gal pot and they clearly reached their full potential with more room to stretch.

These are from the larger container.

sunflower.tv.jpg

PS I have Sunspot and Incredible growing, both dwarfs.

HiPoha · June 16, 2016

I had four giant Russian sunflowers grow in a half barrel. They grew the full 12 feet height. I noticed that the roots filled the whole container. A 5 gallon container may support only one small variety sunflower.

jmsieglaff · June 16, 2016

We did 3 Sunflowers that got to 5-5.5 feet in a 12" pot just fine. They just need heavy daily watering come mid/late summer when the container is mainly filled with roots.

Gardenboy · June 16, 2016

Yes they do fine in containers. Direct sow in containers. Sunflowers have long tap root and they don't like to be transplanted or roots disturbed. I grow in 15 and 20 gallon containers. U can grow 3 or 4 smaller varieties in 1 container but the larger sunflowers like Kong or Mammoth or Russian Stripe does best if you only grow 1 plant per container. I have to tie them to the fence for support once they grow their large seed head.

June 16, 2016	#1
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	sunflowers in containers? Has anyone successfully grown sunflowers (smaller ones, 4-7 ft.) in 5 gallon containers? I'm running out of space in the garden beds, or rather in the places not along the squirrel highway, and I'm wondering how they'd do in pots. I do have enough to experiment with. It seems whenever I plant sunflowers in the ground, the squirrels think everything is for them!

June 16, 2016	#3
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	20 Gal They do fine in bigger pots. Let us know how thy do in your smaller ones.

June 16, 2016	#4
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	I did a few in 5 gal, it works, although they are a bit shorter with slightly smaller and less abundant flowers. So yes it'll work, just make sure the container has a low center of gravity, or brace it against something. At the same time I had some in a 30 gal pot and they clearly reached their full potential with more room to stretch. These are from the larger container. sunflower.tv.jpg PS I have Sunspot and Incredible growing, both dwarfs. Last edited by Gerardo; June 16, 2016 at 02:38 PM.

June 16, 2016	#2
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	There are dwarf varieties of sunflower. I sold them in 1-gallon pots this spring. They would do great in a 3-5 gallon container.

June 16, 2016	#6
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	We did 3 Sunflowers that got to 5-5.5 feet in a 12" pot just fine. They just need heavy daily watering come mid/late summer when the container is mainly filled with roots.

June 16, 2016	#7
Gardenboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 784	Yes they do fine in containers. Direct sow in containers. Sunflowers have long tap root and they don't like to be transplanted or roots disturbed. I grow in 15 and 20 gallon containers. U can grow 3 or 4 smaller varieties in 1 container but the larger sunflowers like Kong or Mammoth or Russian Stripe does best if you only grow 1 plant per container. I have to tie them to the fence for support once they grow their large seed head.