Do you want to have a little sun in your flowerbed? Then plant a decorative sunflower.
Helianthus seeds, as this plant is correctly called, came to Russia thanks to Peter I, and they come from Mexico. At first, sunflowers were grown precisely as ornamental plants - they were highly valued for their large and beautiful flowers, capable of turning their “heads” after sun rays. And although these were the most ordinary, as “technical” plants are now called, they aroused the well-deserved admiration of amateurs.
Decorative varieties of the famous oilseed crop appeared relatively recently and quickly gained popularity among gardeners.
The baskets of this extraordinary flower are up to half a meter in diameter, but there are also very small ones - only 10 cm. Unlike an ordinary sunflower, its entire calyx is filled with small flowers, completely covering the brown base. The flower basket is like a crown with multi-colored tubular flowers, the color of which, depending on the variety, can be not only yellow, but also cream, orange, and even white. The shapes of the petals are also very diverse - long, round, twisted or curved.
This plant is an excellent honey plant; insects love to visit it. Therefore, when flowering ends, it forms a large number of seeds that taste no worse than those grown on industrial varieties of sunflower.
Helianthus is very unpretentious, but loves open sunny areas. If the soil is fertile enough, you can not fertilize it at all, or feed it with organic matter at the very beginning of the growing season. But we must remember that next year in the place where sunflowers grew, it will be possible to plant only beans or beans. They deplete the soil so much that even fertilizer cannot immediately improve the situation.
Decorative sunflowers are propagated in the same way as ordinary ones - by sowing seeds directly into the ground, and perennial species - by dividing the bush, which is done in spring and autumn.
Divide the bushes in the second or third year. This not only rejuvenates the plant, but also promotes lush flowering.
For sowing it is advisable to choose sunny place with well-draining soil. Seeds are sown no deeper than 2.5 cm. Sufficient distance must be left between plants, which depends on the size of the selected variety. 
Shoots appear in one or two weeks. And flowering begins after another 75 or 80 days. To ensure flowering continues until frost, most varieties can be sown sequentially, starting in May.
Faded inflorescences should be removed immediately. This will speed up the opening of new buds, and the stems will bend less to the ground.
Sow decorative sunflower it is necessary as early as possible so that it has time to grow and bloom before autumn. But it must be taken into account that all of it annual species They are very thermophilic and therefore afraid of frost. But there is one trick here: to speed up flowering, you need to remove all the stepsons and small buds that are located under the main central one.
If you want to get abundant and beautiful flowering, in dry weather the sunflower must be watered generously at least once a week. It is also important to protect the plant from the wind, which can simply break the tall, thin stems with heavy flower heads.
In the northern regions, perennial helianthus varieties require additional winter care. If there is not enough snow in winter, they can freeze, so the bushes should be covered.
There are many attractive varieties decorative sunflower. They are great for both garden decoration and cutting. One of the most beautiful is “Teddy Bear”. It is low, no more than a meter, with double flowers, blooms well even in the capricious climate of the north-west. If you plant it at the end of May, it will bloom in last days July, and will delight you until the frosts.
Other interesting varieties of domestic selection:
— The summer resident is a charming, sturdy man no more than 40 cm tall, he looks spectacular both in flower beds and separate groups.
— Red Sun is a tall variety with velvety burgundy inflorescences with a dark center.
— Light of the Moon - huge inflorescences lemon color, up to 45 cm in size; In addition to the central one, the largest, it has a number of lateral inflorescences, which are slightly smaller, but make the plant look like a large bouquet.
Varieties from foreign companies are also popular:
— Giant Single - a two-meter giant with golden petals;
— Ginge Nat (Ginger Nat) - yellow, terry, one and a half meters high;
— Moulin Rouge - velvet, dark burgundy color;
- Vanilla Ice - with a black center and pale yellow edges.
All sunflowers are great for making bouquets. And from tall varieties of decorative sunflowers you can make original screen walls that protect the garden from the wind and prying eyes.
Useful tips, educational articles for summer residents and gardeners. Planting, care, harvesting. Of course, there is a lot of information about flowers, berries, and mushrooms. On the pages of the website "Useful Trava.ru"
Decorative sunflower is becoming an increasingly popular plant in the garden. Decorative varieties of sunflowers with various colors of elegant baskets are now on sale. Among them there are two-three-meter giants and low-growing plants.
Low-growing varieties of sunflowers wonderfully decorate a flowerbed and mixborder. They are good for group plantings, for decorating balconies, suitable for growing in pots, and are also great for cutting.
The flowering of decorative sunflowers is long and abundant – from July to September.
Decorative sunflower sun for the garden
Let's take a trip into the natural world to learn more about these sun lovers.
Sunflower (Helianthus) is a genus of plants belonging to the Asteraceae family. The genus includes about 90 annuals and perennial species. Among them there are many edible (gnawing and oilseed) varieties of sunflower grown for seeds, but decorative varieties of sunflower also occupy their place.
The variety of flowers of decorative sunflowers are very showy in the garden.
Ornamental sunflowers vary significantly depending on the variety:
- flower diameter (5-30 cm);
- stem height (40-300 cm);
- color of the petals (lemon, golden, bright yellow, red, orange, burgundy, brown, etc.).
Numerous attractive varieties decorative sunflowers with exquisite basket-shaped petals, with single, semi-double and double flowers. These varieties are very good for decorating the garden and making bouquets.
Decorative sunflower cultivation
Decorative sunflower is an unpretentious plant, and growing it is not at all difficult. Like all sunflowers, it is light-loving. Decorative sunflowers reproduce by seeds, which are sown directly into the ground in the spring.
For sowing decorative sunflowers, choose a sunny location; it is advisable to allocate an area with well-drained soil for it. We plant the seeds to a depth of 2-2.5 cm.
The distance between plants depends on the variety and the future size determined by this variety. Small plants in group plantings for decorative purposes are usually located at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other. The distance between large and giant plants is 70 cm or more. If the purpose of planting is to create a screen wall of tall sunflowers that protects the garden from the wind, the crops need to be thicker.
If sunflower seeds are planted in fertile garden soil, then the plants do not require fertilizers: decorative sunflowers grow well without any fertilizing. However, I still fertilize sunflowers. Of course, they will take care of themselves, pull everything they can out of the soil - after all, such a giant needs to grow at the expense of something. But then the soil will become impoverished, and next year nothing can be planted in this place. So I fertilize the plants so that I can plant them year after year. For this reason, it is better not to plant them in the flower garden. Decorative sunflowers are good for camouflaging unsightly places on the site - a barn, a fence, a compost heap.
Sunflower is mainly known to gardeners as annual plant, although there are also perennial varieties.
Perennial sunflowers (giant, ten-petalled and hard) in nature exist in North America, and it was from there that they were brought to Europe. They are winter-hardy, reaching a height of 60 to 250 cm. The flowers of perennial ornamental sunflowers are relatively small and do not exceed 5–9 cm in diameter.
Withdrawn garden varieties with simple, semi-double and double flowers: “Soleil d’Or”, “Major”, “Oktoberfest”, etc.
Decorative sunflower varieties with photos
Sunflower Decorative Raspberry Queen
Sunflower Decorative Raspberry Queen – interesting variety decorative sunflower. It was said about it that this is a new luxurious giant variety. It reaches a height of 1.5-1.8 m and has dense, large velvety inflorescence baskets with a dark brown center and petals of a noble, intense crimson color.
I bought a bag of this variety from Search.
I was expecting sunflowers with approximately the same colors as in the first photo.
As a result, the decorative sunflower flowers turned out to be completely different.
They are less decorative, but have a number of advantages. The plant forms four caps at the top, directed in different directions. They bloom alternately, one sunflower flower fades, and another one forms on the side. Sometimes it begins to form without waiting for the previous one to fade. I immediately removed the flowering baskets. When the upper ones bloomed, new flower stalks emerged from the axils. So they bloomed until they were beaten very coldy end of October. We endured slight frosts calmly, but stood sadly until the sun came out.
Decorative sunflower Teddy Bear
Sunflower Decorative Bear is an annual plant up to 40 cm high. The stems are erect, the flowers are double, bright yellow, up to 15 cm in diameter. The bush is very compact and low. Flowering is very abundant, and until late autumn. It is recommended to sow seeds in April-May directly in open ground. Many gardeners in conditions middle zone In Russia, in mid-April, seedlings are planted in cups, and only when the threat of frost has passed, they are planted in the ground on permanent place. The transplant is tolerated well.
Very interesting, quite low-growing variety, with fluffy, cute, touching flowers. It also grows well in partial shade, although it loves a sunny location.
Looks good in flower beds and does not drown out other plants. However, it requires a lot of space in the flowerbed.
Sunflower Decorative Teddy Bear or Teddy Bear
One of the most beautiful varieties Teddy Bear or Teddy Bear. It is similar to the Bear cub variety, low, no more than a meter high, with double bright yellow flowers up to 22 cm in diameter, reminiscent of a plush toy. Blooms well even in not very favorable climatic and weather conditions. Flowering occurs in mid-summer and lasts until autumn.
Decorative sunflower Red Sun
The decorative sunflower Red Sun is a bit like the Crimson Queen. A very interesting variety with red-brown flowers, reaching a height of up to 2 m.
Decorative sunflower Vanilla Ice
Decorative sunflower Vanilla Ice
This variety was bred by foreign breeders. It has charming pale yellow single petals, with a dark center contrasting with them.
Decorative sunflower Moulin Rouge
Decorative sunflower Moulin Rouge is also a variety of foreign selection. In this variety of sunflower, the flower is painted in a rich carmine red color, the petals gradually change color along the length, they are lighter at the edges and darker towards the core.
Decorative sunflower ProCut Red Lemon BiColor
And this is another wonderful work of foreign breeders - decorative sunflower ProCut Red Lemon BiColor
This is an amazing two-color sunflower: the inner half of the petal is dark red, and the outer half is light yellow.
The heart of the flower is black.
Decorative sunflower Kong
There is a variety that reaches a height of 5 meters! This is a decorative sunflower Kong. This is one of the tallest sunflowers, has thick stems and wide leaves. Perfect solution for creating decorative fence. A whole jungle grows up in which you can get lost.
Decorative sunflower – bright sunny colors in your garden!
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"Helianthus"
Competition game "Helianthus" (2017)
Dear friends!
In Russia, schoolchildren and kindergarten students from 66 regions took part in it!
All competition tasks were related to the following objects: HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES, FOOD, PETS AND HOUSING.
When completing the tasks, participants had to choose the correct answer from the proposed options and mark its number on a special form. 45 minutes were allotted for work in grades 1–4, and 1 hour 30 minutes in grades 5–11.
The tasks and answers can be found on the page archives of materials for the game-competition "Heliantus", impersonal results are posted on the page results of the game-competition "Heliantus" (2017).
The Russian organizing committee summed up the results. Results tables indicating how many points each student received and what place he took among all participants in his parallel, certificates, and for winners and prize-winners - diplomas and prizes were sent to the regional organizing committees. Regional organizers are also finalizing the transfer of documents and prizes to participating schools.
Email address of the Methodological Commission of the competition: [email protected]
Information on the competition "Helianthus"
Short bedtime stories for young children
Fairy Alla slept peacefully,
The sun was creeping nearby,
And it said in her ear,
How many have not bloomed
Bright, lush flowers!
No one will see them
All the buds are tightly squeezed,
Just bathed in dew...
The flowers are sleeping, the fairy is dozing...
We need to do something urgently!
And that's true! Fairy Alla flew down from a huge flower and began to restore order in the garden. The petals opened, and the fragrant flowers thanked the fairy.
Meanwhile, the sun didn’t give a damn either. It flew up to the flower and grabbed a large drop of dew from there.
But the bright insect had no intention of drinking this moisture.
Proper cultivation of decorative sunflowers from seeds
She had something else on her mind. What exactly, you will find out later. Maybe the sun was preparing some kind of surprise for the fairy Alla?
It really was a surprise!
All the bugs have gone,
Hearing the aroma
They brought gifts in their paws:
Everything is a drop of dew
Bees and bugs carried
And a drop of nectar
They brought it to the fairy!
It turned out to be a full vat!
And we are happy to swim ourselves.
But this is for Alla -
We prepared the font.
- Well, how? - the sun asked slyly. — My insect friends helped me put water and nectar into the barrel. We want you to have a good rest! Otherwise, we are so sad when you just sleep and don’t pay attention to us at all... Better take a swim. This is a wonderful vacation. You will gain flower energy and tirelessly create magic for the joy of us all. Great, isn't it?
Fairy Alla agreed and smiled welcomingly at the sun.
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Short stories at night for children.
Read for free online
Photo flowers sunflowers
Vipadkovo in the store rubbed decorative dormouse on the nasinya and bought it. And the axis of how the fluffy balls blossomed under my windows. I never would have thought that sleepyheads could be like this.
Helianthus (in Latin Helianthus), translated from Greek helios means “sun” and anthos - flower.” Fatherland of this sonny kvitka - Pivnichna America.
Naturally, with the word “dormouse”, the image of agricultural grain crops, and not even flowers for decorating the landscape, comes to mind. However, helianthus has recently become more and more popular as a flower for decorating the garden, decorating flower beds, for masking spores, gardens (in group plantings), as well as for cutting and creating original bouquets.
Decorative dormouse: formi
The most extensive garden forms of dormouse in ornamental gardening:
Decorative dormouse: description
Ornamental dormouse bushes are erect, weakly branched; dwarf ones up to 30 centimeters in height, and giant ones – up to three meters. Sutvitya in large-flowered tall forms with a diameter of up to 30 div. The flowers of these plants come in a wide range of colors: white, cream, traditional yellow, orange, blackish and even violet-burgundy.
Roslina is warm and light-loving. It gives advantage to the good formation of family soil. Water-loving, especially during the cob growth period.
Planting decorative dormouse
The plants are currently hung in a permanent place in a nesting manner at a depth of 2.0-2.5 cm, per 2-3 seedlings, at a height of 35-75 cm depending on the height of the variety. After thinning, remove one plant from each nest.
Kvitne decorative dormouse from the cob of linden to the veresen. If it is necessary to reduce the height of tall varieties, pinch the top of the central stem at a height of one meter. This allows for rapid fertilization and the growth of a large number of stalks with more different flowers, and the bush takes on a compact shape. The similarity of the present day is preserved over the course of three or four years.
How nice it is to enjoy the beautiful view of blooming sunflowers while driving along a field sown with them.
Hobbyists often decorate their personal plots decorative appearance of this plant. Without this bright orange circle, the picture of a rustic-style plot will be incomplete.
Sunflower story
For fans decorative variety sunflower, it will be nice to know the history of its penetration into Europe. The plant is native to Mexico. It was from this country that in 1510 they were brought by Columbus on his fourth expedition.
Since then, sunflower has firmly entered the list of popular agricultural and cultivated plants.
It was used as a source of nectar, received vegetable oil, animal food and treats for those with a sweet tooth. And romantic natures did not ignore the bright caps of inflorescences and painted pictures from them.
At home, decorative sunflowers can be grown by seedlings or in open ground.
Thanks to the persistence of breeders, there are about 150 varieties that can be planted in your dacha.
What kind of plants now decorate gardeners’ yards? In addition to a smaller copy of the sunflower, there are also representatives where several inflorescences grow on one stem at once.
With their help, they not only add bright accents to the color of the garden, but also use them as decor for unsightly outbuildings or the walls of a house.
Growing from seeds
What conditions need to be created for decorative sunflowers?
First of all, this is, of course, an abundance of sunlight. It is also advisable to ensure that the terrain does not imply the presence of through cold air currents.
The soil must be drained and not allow moisture to stagnate.
Planting sunflowers can be done by seeds or seedlings.
For getting long flowering of this plant, you can sow the seeds every time, after a certain period of time.
swollen black seed immersed in the ground to a depth of no more than 3 cm. Between fairly high flowering plants It is advisable to maintain a distance of 50-70cm.
Read also:
If we are talking about perennial varieties sunflowers, they are easy to propagate by dividing the bush. It is worth carrying out this procedure every time after a couple of years. In this case, you can start dividing both in spring and summer.
The decorative variety of sunflowers does not require special care. The main thing is to provide them with watering if necessary and loosening the soil.
The root system of sunflowers is quite powerful for their height and stem thickness. Therefore, they need sufficient moisture. But, excessive moisture can lead to rotting.
As is the case with many other flowering plants, to actively stimulate the appearance of new buds, it is worth removing faded flowers.
What else is worth knowing is that there is no need for fertilizing if the soil is initially fertile. Otherwise, sunflowers can be fed with organic matter at the beginning of their growth.
If a florist wants to see blooming decorative sunflowers in his “kingdom of flowers” in a short time, they can be grown by seedlings.
Seedlings are obtained traditionally - just plant the seeds soaked for a day in boxes with soil and watch how, after a few days, a tender sprout appears. You can plant it at the end of April.
Sun flower. Decorative sunflower. Helianthus. Helianthus.Who among us doesn’t like to indulge in delicious sunflower seeds while on vacation?sunflower. But few people know the history of sunflower.
Its value as an oilseed crop was revealed to the whole world in Russia, where it was introduced thanks to Peter I. At first, sunflower was grown as ornamental plant, later - for the pleasure of eating seeds, and only at the end of the 18th century. The first timid attempts to obtain oil from seeds appeared. Humanity owes the discovery of sunflower as an oilseed crop to a simple peasant serf from near Voronezh. This culture was also used by pharmacists - infusions of dried flowers and leaves were used as a remedy for many diseases.
Beekeepers appreciated the high honey content of large sunflower flowers. In general, no matter how you look at it, there is no better crop than sunflower - it’s oil, honey, medicine, and seeds. Even waste is used: first-class cake is used to produce halva, second-class cake is used for feed, and the husk is an excellent fuel. But no matter how useful sunflower is in agriculture, we must not forget about the decorative properties of this plant. After all, acquaintance with him began as with decorative culture, which is not for nothing called the “flower of the sun”.
Each of us is familiar with the sunflower, but not everyone agrees to call it a “flower”. Now in Europe it is a fashionable and popular flower of various shapes and colors. In our country, it is just beginning to gain its popularity as a landscape decor. More than 150 varieties of ornamental sunflower are cultivated and sold in the world today, three quarters of them were bred by breeders in last years. Helianthus - Helianthus (from the Greek "helios" - sun and "anthos" - flowers), gaining popularity, is rapidly becoming fashionable.
The seeds of this plant were brought by the fourth expedition of Christopher Columbus from Mexico in 1510 and sown in Madrid botanical garden. From here it spread throughout Europe and later throughout the world under the name "Sun Herb", or "Peruvian Sun Flower". Since the second half of the 16th century, sunflower has been studied and described by many breeders, and each gives it its own name: Herba solis, Flos solis, Solindianus, Corona solis, Solis flos peruvianus, Helianthemon peruvianum. Heliotropism (sun orientation) of inflorescences explains the unanimity of the authors different countries who saw in this flower a semblance of the sun.
Once in Europe, sunflower for a long time remained only a decorative crop. It arouses universal admiration and interest not only among botanists, poems are written about it, it is depicted in paintings. It is characteristic that in his famous series of paintings “Sunflowers”, Vincent Van Gogh depicted precisely decorative, and not oilseed, forms of sunflowers.
If we calculate the appearance of sunflower culture in Europe from the beginning of the 16th century, then its first utilitarian use has passed at least 300 years. Peasant Bokarev from Alekseevskaya Sloboda, Voronezh province, was the first to manually obtain sunflower oil from the seeds of an overseas flower in 1829. The new product was a huge success. Already in 1833, the first industrial horse-drawn oil mill began operating, and in 1865, the first steam oil mill. From flower greenhouses, sunflower entered the fields of the southern regions of Russia, then Europe, later Argentina and China, and finally, already in the 20th century. returned to his historical homeland - America - in a new capacity.
In our country, the decorative significance of the culture was almost completely lost, but in Europe, North America, Japan, and South Africa, on the contrary, interest in this culture was growing. Breeders armed modern methods genetics and biotechnology, created new varieties and hybrids. Every year there are new products, each new product is a new word in the selection of the species. In Austria, not far from Vienna, the Sunflower Park, popular among tourists, has opened, which presents more than 40 species of wild relatives of our “familiar”, hundreds of modern oilseed varieties and hybrids, almost all of them are decorative forms.
Decorative sunflowers in our gardens have quite short story. They are used as cut flowers to create original bouquets, which are stored in vases with water for more than two weeks.
The wave of growing popularity of helianthus has reached us. An increasing number of varieties are entering our market; many design studios import fresh flowers from Holland and Germany for arrangement.
U rapid growth There are several reasons for the global popularity of sunflower. The main one is the unpretentiousness of the plant: the sown seeds germinate and grow together. Only at first you need to take care of watering and soil fertility, and then the roots penetrate deep into the ground, which helps to overcome both low fertility and minor drought. With multiple sowings (April-August) it is easy to achieve continuous flowering from the beginning of July until the first frost (usually in November).
Another reason is the extraordinary diversity of the plants themselves. You can use varieties of any desired height - from 3-meter giants to 30-centimeter dwarfs, with different types branching or single-stemmed. This allows you not only to decorate bright colors an unsightly barn wall, but create a flower bed of any shape, make a composition of lush flowering babies in pots near the porch, which can be easily replaced with a new one according to your mood.
The next factor is color palette. Modern varieties, in addition to the well-known ones, also have other basic colors: white, baked milk, Ivory, lemon, apricot, orange, each can combine with anthocyanin and produce colors from creamy pink and red to purple-burgundy, almost black.
The variety of sizes, shapes, and structures of the inflorescences of decorative sunflowers is also amazing. The diameter of the flowers is very different: from 5-6 cm to 17-20 cm. In addition to the usual flat-bottomed inflorescences, there is a whole series of double varieties. Some have inflorescences similar to those of chrysanthemums, others have gerberas, others have dahlias, the rest are their own types: various flat and convex star-shaped shapes. The shape of the petals is also impressive in its diversity: round, long, elongated with all kinds of bends, twists, etc.
Varieties of decorative sunflowers differ in height, miniature ones have a height of 30 cm, and large ones up to 3 meters. They differ in color - white, yellow, orange, red-brown, vanilla, and new colors are appearing. The shape of the petals is long, round, curved, twisted.
Growing decorative sunflowers
Seeds are planted during May - August to obtain extended flowering until the coldest weather. The planting depth is up to 2 cm, the distances between plants depend on the size of the plants, since large sunflowers look better in single plantings, and low ones should not grow too densely in order to show all their lush beauty. But group plantings are also possible, creating waves of high, medium and low colors. You can also use sunflowers to decorate a hedge. Choose a place that is sunny, quiet, not flooded, with well-fertilized soil. Faded flowers and whole plants are cut off to preserve the decorative appearance of the plantings and to shed the flowering period.
It can be assumed that in the near future the varietal potential of the crop will expand to several hundred, or even thousands of varieties.
The last reason on the list is the functionality of modern hybrids. Sunflower is a bee-pollinated crop and produces a lot of nectar and pollen. It was the abundant pollen that previously restrained its widespread use in cutting (non-washable yellow spots and painful allergies). Now a way has been invented to create an exact but sterile copy for any variety. These are the new modern hybrids - magnificent inflorescences no pollen. If properly cut and transported, the flower will remain in a vase for up to 10-12 days.
The most popular Decorative Sunflowers are divided into groups:
1. Sunflower Variegated- with variegated leaves;
2. California sunflower- with terry and halfacherous inflorescences, mainly from ligulate flowers
3. Sunflowers Round and Bloated- this group has double spherical inflorescences, with a predominance of tubular flowers
4. Sunflowers Round Multi-flowered- this group has a lot of inflorescences located on the top and sides of the stem, up to 1 m high. The bush looks like a flowering hill
Sunflower variety "Teddy Bear", very large round, up to 20 cm in diameter, bright yellow double inflorescences, reminiscent of a plush toy. A plant up to 1 m high with a strong, very branched stem. Flowering occurs in mid-summer and continues until autumn.
No less interesting Sunflower variety "Red Sun" with its red-brown bright inflorescences and a darker center on a rather high, up to 2 m tall, durable stem. Flowering is abundant and long lasting. This plant can be seen from afar.
Sunflower variety "Dachnik"- a dwarf variety for Decorative Sunflowers, only up to 0.5 m in height, but with a strong peduncle. Thanks to low altitude plants, it looks impressive in the foreground of the border.
The inflorescences are unusually colored Sunflower variety "Light of the Moon"- they are light lemonythin, large, with manyom lateral smaller flowers.
Imagine orderly rows powerful plants who greet the morning sun and turn their beautiful hats to follow its rays. This is helianthus, known to us as “sunflower” - the most light-loving crop. If you think that you can only find it in fields where sunflowers are grown on an industrial scale, then you are deeply mistaken. Helianthus occupies not the last place in decorative floriculture. Thanks to the work of breeders, many hybrid varieties with interesting colors have been developed, and the unpretentiousness of the crop and its proud, regal appearance attract the attention of lovers of simple but original forms.
Decorative sunflowers are often used to make bouquets, because after cutting the plant retains fresh look within 2 weeks.
Growing helianthus is a pleasure. It develops almost without human help, without needing daily care. Even a single plant in a flower bed becomes the center of attention, and group compositions from different varieties sunflower, and even in combination with other flowers, create a unique masterpiece. We invite you to take a closer look at the decorative sunflower and its popular types, and also learn about the features of cultivation, so that everyone can choose a plant to their liking and decorate their area with it.
The sunflower received its scientific name due to the shape of the inflorescence, reminiscent of the sun, and Greek language, in which “helianthus” means two words: “sun” and “flowers”. That is why it is often called the “flower of the sun.”
What is a decorative sunflower?
Helianthus is a member of the Asteraceae (Asteraceae) family. All its hybrid varieties are bred on the basis of wild annual sunflower - a medium-sized plant up to 1 m high with a large number of inflorescences in the form of sun caps. The inflorescence itself is a basket with small tubular petals inside, and large lingual petals along the edge. At the end of flowering, the petals wither and fall off, and black faceted seeds ripen under them.
Sunflower seeds have very good germination rate: even after 3 years they are able to germinate.
Varietal diversity of helianthus
Today, there are almost 200 species of helianthus that are used in decorative floriculture, but breeders do not stop there, inventing new varieties of this unique plant. Among them there are both dwarf specimens, not exceeding 30 cm in height, and real giants, more than 3 m in height. The color of the caps is no less varied: from the characteristic yellow color, to unique white petals and even dark purple. What can we say about terry varieties- their stuffed, lush heads will decorate the flowerbed.
Scientists also worked on the shape of the inflorescence itself, developing varieties similar to dahlias, chrysanthemums or gerberas. And the shape of the petals itself is different from standard view sunflower - they can be round or oval, curved or twisted.
It is worth noting that most modern hybrids are absolutely sterile. They do not have pollen, therefore, an allergic reaction to a sunflower bouquet is excluded.
Depending on the shape of the plant, the following species groups of helianthus flowers are distinguished:
- variegated (with a pattern on the leaves);
- Californian (with stuffed inflorescences);
- multi-flowered (multiple inflorescences are located along the entire stem, giving the sunflower the appearance of a pyramid).
Based on the overall height of the bush, they are distinguished:
- giant varieties with a height of 1.8 to 3 m with large caps with a diameter of up to 30 cm;
- medium-sized sunflowers with a height of 1.2 m;
- dwarf varieties not exceeding 60 cm in height.
Among the most beautiful views The following varieties of helianthus are worth noting:
Where and when is it better to plant a sun flower?
The main thing that needs to be taken into account when growing helianthus is that this plant loves the sun very much and simply cannot live without it. If there is the brightest and warmest spot on your property, it is simply meant for sunflowers. In addition, such an area should not be flooded with melt water.
To admire the colorful caps until frost, you can plant the plant in several passes, starting from April and ending in August.
Planting helianthus is carried out mainly with the help of seeds, placing them in holes of 2 pieces. The second seed is usually used as a backup; if both seeds germinate, one plant can always be replanted. In general, sunflower seeds have good germination rates. There is no need to deepen the seeds too much; 2 cm is enough - in the future, the powerful roots themselves will firmly settle in the hole.
The distance between the holes depends on the specific variety and averages about 40 cm. If it is an erect species that has few branches, the holes can be made closer to each other. Lush, abundantly branching bushes should be planted less often so that they have enough space to develop.
If you decide to grow helianthus seedlings (this option is also possible), you should consider that it does not tolerate transplantation well.
Dwarf varieties can be grown as potted crops, placing containers on summer period on outdoors in the garden. Propagation of perennial helianthus is carried out by dividing the bush, which is carried out in the third year after planting in early spring or autumn.
Caring for decorative sunflowers
Despite its size and powerful structure (rarely any other garden flower has such a strong trunk, not counting the bushes), helianthus is the most unpretentious plant. Almost all the main activities for its cultivation are carried out at the planting stage. Choosing for culture appropriate place, caring for helianthus in the future will not cause trouble, because by its nature the sunflower has good vitality, having adopted it from its ancestors. Its developed root system firmly anchors the plant in the soil, be it compact species or tall varieties, and is able to obtain nutrition from the lower layers.
As for watering, helianthus prefers moderate humidity. You should not flood the plantings so that the roots do not start to rot, but in dry, hot summers you will need to add water more often to the bushes.
During the season, it is advisable to feed the decorative sunflower twice to replenish the balance. useful substances, which the powerful root system of the plant selected from the soil. But even if this is not done, the helianthus will not disappear, it will simply not be able to reveal its beauty in full force.
After sunflowers, only legumes can be planted next season, because they greatly deplete the soil. Even after applying fertilizers, the soil will only be able to fully recover after several years.
After the inflorescences fade, they must be cut out to prolong the overall flowering of the bush (the largest caps should be left to collect the seeds). In addition, pruning will help relieve stress on the stem, and it will not bend. Tall varieties of helianthus need additional support.
To speed up the flowering of helianthus, some gardeners use one trick: they pluck out the stepsons and small buds that grow under the central one.
If everything is clear regarding annuals (they must be planted annually), then a few more words should be said about perennial decorative sunflowers. This applies to wintering a flower in open ground - when growing perennials in cold regions, they may require shelter, especially if the winter has little snow. Otherwise, care perennial crops is no different from breeding annual helianthus.
As you have already seen, the sun flower is actually very flexible and incredibly beautiful. Stock up on seeds and grow this on your plot universal plant. Tall giants with their large hats will reliably hide your dacha from your neighbors, miniature babies with lush heads will decorate the summer veranda, and perennial sunflowers will greet you at the gate for a long time, nodding their heads in greeting.
Review of decorative sunflower seeds - video
July 13th, 2016
Hello, dear readers!
Last time I told you about decorative climbing plant . And now I’ll describe to you how last year I grew another plant that was new to me in the garden. And there was this sunflower Bear, a very cute, cozy and fluffy tenant in the flowerbed.
Fluffy yellow miracle - decorative sunflower
The first time I saw this plant was at a flower exhibition dedicated to a local holiday, which is celebrated at the end of summer. A bouquet of double, downright fluffy, bright yellow flowers looked very impressive in a flowerpot. When I got closer, I was surprised to find that the plant was very similar to an ordinary sunflower, only small and fluffy. “Yes,” the owner of the exhibition confirmed to me, “this is a sunflower. Only decorative!” And, of course, after such a discovery, I immediately became eager to grow this pretty sunny plant in my flowerbed.
Sunflower Bear: growing from seeds
The following spring, I purposefully looked for decorative sunflower seeds on sale, asking sellers about their availability. And when I found it, I learned the more accurate name of the plant - “Bear Sunflower.” Growing this flower turned out to be not particularly difficult, although there were some unsuccessful moments.
Sowing
I sowed decorative sunflower seeds in two ways: in cups for seedlings and by direct sowing in open ground in May. I don’t know for what reason, but in the open ground I still couldn’t see the shoots. But the plants sprouted in the cups, and the seedlings developed quite successfully. So in June I had a lot of decorative sunflower seedlings.
Planting and care
I generously planted the “Bear Cub” seedlings in the garden bed. The distance between the plants apparently turned out to be too small, so I soon ended up with thickets of sunflowers. On the bag of seeds it was indicated that the plants should be pinched for better branching when they have 5-6 leaves. I didn’t use this technique, since everything was growing very densely, and I didn’t have enough time for such troubles.
Decorative sunflower - a worthy plant for the garden
When my “baby bears” bloomed, they were cute, fluffy, and very colorful flowers. But for me they probably grew into a stem and produced a lot of leaves. Apparently, they felt too at ease in my garden. Bouquets of these flowers are very decorative when cut. And they color your garden with warm sunny colors. I think that if you pay more attention to the formation of the plant, do not thicken the plantings and remove excess leaves, you can achieve even more picturesque flowering to decorate your yard or garden.
I wish you good luck, a bright sunny summer and wonderful flower beds! You may also find useful article with a description of the varieties of petunia I liked. You can read it