Cut off dead flowers
By cutting off the faded flowers, you cannot stimulate growth in single-stemmed sunflowers. Therefore, do not cut and let the seeds ripen in the flower heads.
also read
- When is the best time to plant sunflowers?
- Maintain sunflowers in the room as cut flowers
- Sunflowers are not poisonous, they are even edible
This is especially useful if you want to harvest sunflower seeds for the next year or bird seed for the winter.
To protect the kernels from the birds, you should pull permeable fabric over the flowers. Alternatively, the flowers can also be dried indoors.
Cutting sunflowers in autumn
In autumn, most gardeners cut off the sunflowers entirely because the dried-up stems with the sad drooping flower heads are not a pretty sight.
Never tear the plant out completely, but leave the roots in the ground. They decompose there during winter, loosening the soil and enriching it with nutrients.
So cut the sunflowers just above the ground. With very thick and lignified handles, a knife is often not enough. Sometimes you need to use the pruning saw to cut the sunflowers.
Cut off sunflowers for the vase
If you want to cut a pretty bouquet of sunflowers for the vase, select only flowers that are no longer completely closed, but also not yet completely open.
The best time of day to cut the sunflower petals is in the morning. Pick a day when it hasn't exactly rained.
To make the sunflowers last a long time in the vase, cut them at the bottom. Soak the stems in boiling water for a few seconds before placing them in the vase.
- Remove the lower leaves
- Cut the stems
- Hold briefly in boiling water
- Put in lukewarm water
- Change water daily
- Cut the stems every two days
Tips & Tricks
As a bird lover, you should never cut off all the sunflower blooms that have faded. There is hardly a better opportunity to experience the feathery garden dwellers approaching and picking out the seeds.
