Features of growing decorative sunflowers. How to grow an ornamental sunflower from seeds

Sunflower- An annual plant that belongs to the Astrov family. It has a thick stem, on which one large or several small heads grow. Most of the flower is familiar as a source of seeds. But it is also used in medicine. The healing properties of sunflower petals can be used to combat various diseases. They make quite pleasant-tasting and extremely useful medicines.

How to use the healing properties of sunflower petals?

Medicine has found use for all parts of the plant. Of course, the petals did not remain ownerless either. In order for them to have the maximum amount of useful substances, you need to collect flowers soon after they bloom.

Petals should be thoroughly dried in a ventilated area. Understand that harvested crop quality, can be on several grounds. The raw material should be bright yellow, have a slight sweetish aroma and a bitter taste.

Healing properties of products based on sunflower petals

Preparations with the addition of flowers are considered good expectorants. They are often prescribed for colds. They help relax smooth muscles. internal organs, lowering the temperature.
With the help of yellow sunflower petals, various ailments of the liver and biliary tract are also treated.
Plant-based infusion significantly improves appetite. It is advised to drink it in a third of a glass three times - four times a day.
take advantage healing properties sunflower can be with increased nervous excitability. Tincture will help you quickly get out of a state of depression or stress, calm down. You need to drink it 40 drops before meals.
Tea from sunflower petals can be used to treat diseases of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal colic, urticaria, neuralgia, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, influenza. Its external use is also allowed - as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent.
Lotions with a decoction or infusion on sunflower flowers quickly eliminate all signs. A moistened swab must be applied to the sore spot and temporarily attached with a band-aid.
Often, the beneficial properties of sunflower petals are used to combat psoriasis. The tincture is suitable for both internal and external use - the affected areas are wiped with a dark oily liquid.

Beautiful decorative sunflower, a photo

The sunflower is called the sun flower for a reason. Its large inflorescences on long, strong stems turn in sync with the movement of the sun throughout the daylight hours to capture the maximum of its heat and light.

Popular varieties and types of decorative sunflower

Sunflower field, known as the source sunflower oil, became the progenitor of new, ornamental varieties. They are more compact, better suited for growing for design and garden decoration purposes.

Decorative sunflower, the photo of which is presented in our article, has many varieties and different colors. Consider the most beautiful varieties. The most popular, familiar to many from childhood, is the decorative sunflower variety Medvezhonok. It is distinguished by a fluffy, fur-like flower up to 1 meter high. Blooms from mid-summer to September.

The variety with the no less sonorous name Red Sun is special thanks to a flower with rather long, bright red petals, and a small black core. The height of the stems can reach two meters. In flowerbeds, these flowers are used to decorate the background or fence.

Foreign breeders also did not ignore the sunflower. The pride of every gardener can be the two-color variety ProCut Red Lemon BiColor, which combines red and yellow colors.

Amazing but famous useful properties Jerusalem artichoke tubers - refers to tuberous perennial sunflowers (lat. Helianthus tuberosus). Numerous yellow or red flowers on thin graceful stems up to 3 meters high look incredibly beautiful. They have been grown for a long time in the front gardens of domestic gardeners. Jerusalem artichokes complete the summer with their flowering and meet autumn from August to November.

Sunflower in garden design

bright flowers sunflowers themselves can make a colorful flower garden, if you use flowers of several types different heights. Compact varieties will decorate garden paths, and tall flowers will hide fences and hedges.

Because of the bright color and big size sunflowers require careful selection of neighbors in the flower bed. yellow varieties goes well with the colors of blue, purple and white color: delphinium, lavender, white liatris, chamomile, chrysanthemum.

When creating a flower garden from wild flowers, on the contrary, accuracy is not needed - small flowers of bright colors will create a colorful background, against which sunflowers will dominate.

The use of sunflower in floristry

The floriculture and floristry industry is increasingly paying attention to plants that were previously not customary for decorating and arranging bouquets.

During the September holidays, the hero of the most daring and stylish bouquets is a decorative sunflower along with asters, chrysanthemums, gladioli and even roses.

Due to the powerful stem, the sunflower stays in the bouquet for a long time without losing its freshness and texture. And the bright petals of the flower give the home freshness, and the residents cheer up.

Outcome

Today, ornamental sunflowers are often grown to decorate the garden. unpretentious plants allow you to create an unusual comfort on the site. Designers use sunflower to create garden and home decor - simple clear shape a flower will do under the style of country or Provence, complementing your familiar environment with sunlight.

Hello. Today's meeting involves a new acquaintance. Let's talk about unusual colors. This is an ornamental sunflower, growing it from seeds will undoubtedly be a pleasant pastime for you.

Perhaps you have seen fields sown with sunflowers, and if not, look at the photo: the spectacle is ardent and impressive. Few know that the usual technical culture has more than one and a half hundred decorative species.

A plant brought from America to Europe in the 16th century unusual flower called helianthus - sunny flower. At first, the culture was grown because of its beauty, only then it began to be sown for agriculture. Later, breeders bred decorative varieties.
Helianthus are grown all over the world. Bouquets are made of them, they become an ornament of landscape design, they are cultivated as indoor plant. Many varieties of decorative sunflower look so unusual that it is difficult to correlate them with the progenitor -. They differ:

different colors, flowers are white, cream, apricot, orange, burgundy, brown, yellow;
the shape of the flowers, which happen to be simple, semi-double and double;
flower size from 5 to 30 centimeters;
height. There are giant varieties that grow up to three meters, medium-sized - a meter and a half high, compact - grow up to 60 cm.

Please check out some of the popular helianthus varieties:

The most favorite variety of domestic gardeners is "Bear Cub". Its height is not more than one meter, it has large double flowers of bright yellow color. Blooms from mid-summer to autumn.
"Red Sun" - a variety of domestic selection, known throughout the world. It blooms for a long time, the petals are red-brown, the height is up to two meters.
"Vanilla Ice" - a variety with vanilla-colored flowers is grown for bouquets.
'Moulin Rouge' has two-tone petals: red on the inside, yellow on the outside. The heart of this variety is black.
"Kong" - these sunflowers up to five meters high often form a hedge.
'Pacino' has attractive bright yellow flowers and is a very short growing plant.
"Big Smile" grows up to 30 cm, the flowers are yellow, the middle is black.
'Sunspot' is a dwarf-height cultivar with huge flowers.
'Music Box' has a whole inflorescence on one stem.

Planting in a flower bed and care

For planting choose a sunny place. Fertile soil will eliminate the need. Sharp gusts of wind can break fragile stems, choose a protected place. Decorative annuals are propagated by seeds. Their preparation is very simple:

make an aqueous solution of wood ash;
saturate the fabric with it;
wrap the seeds in it;
soak for a day, moisturizing the fabric if necessary

Sow directly into open ground or in seedling boxes. Growing seedlings makes sense only in regions with a cold climate and short summers.

In most areas, sunflowers are successfully bred by sowing seeds directly into open ground. Sow no deeper than 3 centimeters. The distance between plants depends on the variety: large sunflowers are placed 70 cm or more apart, smaller ones - 30-40 cm apart.
Landing time comes in early May. Shoots appear in a week. The culture begins to bloom in July and continues until October. Some flower growers, in order to please the helianthus with their flowering for as long as possible, sow them with an interval of two weeks.
The solar flower is unpretentious and requires simple care:

weekly watering if the soil dries out;
removal of weeds with simultaneous loosening.

Can be sustained longer when cut flower baskets before seeds are formed. The sunflower will have new buds and the flowering cycle will resume.

sunny flower on the windowsill

In a warm apartment, culture will delight all year round. Caring for him is very simple, you can entrust even children. First of all, you need to choose dwarf variety, which is more suitable for growing on the windowsill.
Take the container, taking into account the size of the sunflower, so that you do not have to replant later - he does not like this procedure. You can buy a long container and plant several plants at once, or you can use a flower pot. For dwarf varieties, a diameter of 40 centimeters is suitable. For a sunflower of medium height, a box with a volume of 20 liters is needed.

Before planting, the pot must be disinfected to prevent diseases. At the bottom, make drainage from pebbles. Pour in the universal potting mix for flowers, not reaching the top of the container 2 centimeters.

It is possible, add humus 1: 1 to the soil to increase its fertility. There are also special crystals to support optimal moisture balance. Don't forget the bottom stand to collect excess water.
Sow the seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm and water well. Planting is carried out with two seeds in one hole, so that later the weaker plant can be removed. Continue watering every three days, observing soil moisture. After 3-8 days, sprouts will appear. Move the sunflowers to their permanent sunniest spot.

Protection against diseases and pests

Of particular danger are insects that eat away the inside of the stem and lead the plant to death. Do not forget to inspect sunflowers from time to time and, as soon as you notice pests, treat with insecticides. One treatment will destroy uninvited guests.
Plants can be subject to bacterial diseases:

false powdery mildew;
rust;
brown spotting.

The causative agent of dew is carried by insects, its occurrence is facilitated by high humidity both air and soil.

The inner side of the leaves is covered with a white coating, dark spots appear on the outer side.

To avoid chemicals, you can use folk remedy: 3 grams blue vitriol and 25 grams of soap per liter of water. Plants are sprayed with a solution until the signs of the disease disappear.

Decorative sunflower often suffers from brown spotting. It can hit plants in the garden and. high air temperature and high humidity contribute to rapid development. Infection can occur from water, soil.

Signs: the appearance of round or oval spots on the leaves and stems, which then become dry. As soon as you notice, remove the affected areas. If a houseplant is sick, isolate it from others.

After you finish cutting off the affected areas, wipe the instrument and hands with alcohol. Cut wounds should be sprinkled with powder from activated carbon. Noticed in time, these measures will be enough to prevent further development of the disease.
In the case when it was not possible to extinguish the focus of infection, the disease progresses, you will have to resort to antifungal chemicals.

Diseases can be prevented by adhering to: loosening the soil, removing weeds.

It's an annual herbaceous plant with wonderful "sunny" flowers will decorate any personal plot. How many gardeners know that the sunflower we are used to belongs to a species that has more than 150 ornamental varieties?

Even from the Mexican expedition of Christopher Columbus, seeds were brought to Europe unusual plant, which was later named after the shape of the flower - Helianthus (from the Greek "helios" - the sun and "anthos" - a flower).

Then, in the 16th century, the plant aroused genuine admiration for its unusual shape flowers: paintings and poems - artists captured the beauty of this culture in their works.

The sunny flower came to Russia thanks to Peter the Great: he brought seeds and ordered domestic gardeners to grow an unusual crop. Just like ornamental plant then the sunflower spread, which is now used in agriculture. But varieties for flower beds were bred by breeders much later: new varieties are still appearing, differing in height, size of inflorescences, their shade and quantity.

Description of the species

Helianthus is a herbaceous plant that is grown all over the world: in the South and North America, Europe, Japan and even Africa. Decorative sunflowers are included in bouquets, used in landscape design and grown as potted flowers on the windowsill. And the inhabitants of Austria fell in love with the sunny flower so much that they even opened the “Sunflower Park”, where all possible wild and breeding varieties of this crop are collected.

To date, the species is usually divided into 2 subspecies:

sowing sunflower;
decorative sunflower.

There are both annual and perennial varieties.

Many varieties of helianthus look so that it is even difficult to associate them with their progenitor - now an agricultural sunflower, from the seeds of which oil, beloved in every family, is obtained.

Colour. The color of helianthus flowers can be very diverse: white, cream, apricot, orange, burgundy, lemon, brown and, of course, yellow.
The shape of the flower is simple, as well as semi-double and even terry.
The shape of the petals: round, long, twisted into a tube, curved.
Flowers in diameter different varieties can be from 5 to 30 cm.
Plant stem height. Conventionally, plants are divided into 3 groups according to height:

giant varieties reaching 2-3 m in height ("Russian Giant", "Toll Single", "Yellow Giant", "Titan", "Russian Mammoth", "Bismarckianus");
medium-sized varieties, the height of which is from 1 to 1.5 m;
compact varieties, up to 60 cm high ("Teddy Bear", "Pacino", "Music Box", "Sunny Bunny").

All varieties have a delicate aroma and are honey plants.

Varieties of decorative sunflowers

We will not list all the varieties known today. Let's talk about the most popular of them:

"Teddy Bear" - this variety is very loved by gardeners in our country. annual plant does not exceed 1 m in height, in the middle of summer blooms large (22 cm in diameter) double flowers which are bright yellow in color. Flowering continues until autumn.
"Red Sun" - a variety bred by domestic breeders, has gained popularity around the world. It has red-brown petals, a long flowering period, and can reach a height of 2 m.
Vanilla Ice is a famous cut variety. Flowers non-double vanilla shade.
"Moulin Rouge" - has an unusual color: burgundy-red petals become lighter towards the edges and darker towards the middle of the flower.
"Kong" is the tallest ornamental sunflower - the height of an adult culture is 5 m. Often on household plots planted to create a hedge.
"ProCut Red Lemon BiColor" - has inflorescences of two shades: the inside of the petals is red, the outside is pale yellow, and the heart of the flower is black.
"Pacino" - very small plant with expressive bright yellow flowers.
"Big Smile" undersized variety(maximum 30 cm) with yellow flowers with a black center.
'Sunspot' is an amazing dwarf variety with huge flowers (20-25 cm in diameter).
"Music Box" - a variety that differs large quantity flowers on one plant.

Planting helianthus in the garden

The very name of the solar flower suggests that it likes to grow in well-lit areas. Choose a site for the plant with fertile soil so that there is no need to fertilize during the growing season. The plant will feel better if the landing site is protected from sudden gusts of wind that can break its fragile stem.

Ornamental annual sunflowers are planted from seeds. Preparing seed is very simple:

dissolve wood ash in 0.5 l of warm water;
soak a piece of cloth with the resulting solution;
wrap sunflower seeds in cloth;
leave for a day;
if the fabric dries out, moisten it with the same solution.

Seeds need to be planted in the soil to a depth of no more than 3 cm. It is very important to think over the planting pattern: if the variety is compact, then 30-40 cm between plants will be enough, and if it is large, then at least 70 cm.

The first plants can be planted in early May and shoots will appear within a week after planting. Flowering will begin in July and last until the end of September. Some gardeners, in order to extend the flowering period of the flower bed, plant plants in groups with a small interval in time (about 2 weeks) throughout the summer.

Decorative sunflower: plant care

Solar flowers are unpretentious in care. They need:

watering as the soil dries (it is important to prevent stagnant water) - at least 1 time per week;
loosening the soil;
weed removal.

As the flowering progresses, flower baskets need to be cut off without waiting for the formation of seeds - this will stimulate the plant to form new buds and resume the flowering cycle. In addition, removing wilted blooms will help keep your garden decorative.

If you want to remove the plant completely, then just cut it at the root: digging up one bush, you can inadvertently damage the delicate roots of neighboring, still actively flowering crops.

How to grow a decorative sunflower at home: instructions

At any time of the year, a bright sunny flower will delight you, sitting on the windowsill in warm apartment. The cultivation process is so simple that many parents are happy to entrust it to their children, who are watching the development of culture with great interest.

So the first thing to do is choose interesting variety by driving to the nearest garden center. Most importantly, do not forget that for home growing dwarf varieties are more suitable.

Container selection

To plant an ornamental sunflower, purchase a standard flower container, taking into account the height of the future sun flower and the number of plants you are going to plant:

too small a pot will soon become cramped for the plant and it will have to be transplanted, however, the culture does not tolerate transplantation well - so you should not do this;
if the variety is dwarf, a pot for planting with a diameter of 30-40 cm will be optimal;
if you have a special balcony flower box, it is perfect for planting several sunflowers at once;
if you still want to plant a medium-sized sunflower in an apartment (height up to 1.5 m) - you will need a large box (from 18 liters), for example, one in which vegetables are transported.

sunflower soil

Disinfect the pot before planting to prevent the development of diseases in the plant. Provide a stand for water to drain under the bottom.

Be sure to provide drainage - put pebbles (pebbles, gravel) or pieces of foam on the bottom of the container for planting. Pour the soil mixture (universal soil for flowers) over the drainage layer. There should be enough soil so that another 2-2.5 cm remains to the top of the container. Water the soil well.

you can add special crystals to the soil mixture that retain moisture - this will help maintain an optimal moisture balance;
so that the decorative sunflower receives the necessary nutrients, add rotted compost (1: 1) to the soil.

Landing and care

When the pots are prepared, proceed to planting. Seeds are best planted in pairs, when the plants sprout, remove the weaker one. It is necessary to deepen the seed into the soil by 2.5 cm.

Until the seeds germinate, you need to water the soil every 2 days, observing the soil moisture.

Seedlings will be noticeable in 3-8 days. But if 2 weeks have passed, and the sunflowers have not hatched, they will no longer sprout.

Place a container with decorative sunflowers in a well-lit place, so that the culture receives the sun's rays throughout the day.

Pests and diseases

Sunny flowers are subject to many dangers. Most often they are attacked by moths, barbels and thorns. Pests settle on the crop and eat away the contents of its stem, soon bringing the plant to death. Inspect the plant and as soon as you notice the appearance of uninvited guests on them, treat with insecticides. One treatment session will be enough to eliminate the threat.

Among the bacterial diseases that a crop can become infected with are rust, downy mildew and brown spot.

Downy mildew. The cause of the disease may be the defeat of insect vectors of infection. Most often it is an aphid, a worm or a scale insect. Also, increased humidity of the soil or air can contribute to bacterial lesions.

Downy mildew manifests itself as a white bloom on inside leaves, dark spots appear on the outer.

To stop the spread of the disease, remove the most affected parts of the plant while carefully sterilizing the pruning tools. Then treat the entire landing with special antifungal drugs- fungicides.

If you don't want to apply chemicals, then use folk recipe: dissolve 3 g of copper sulfate and 25 g laundry soap in 1 liter of water. Spray the plants with this remedy until the symptoms of the disease have disappeared (usually after 3-7 days).

Brown spotting (phyllostictosis) for ornamental sunflowers is also a fairly common problem. Moreover, both the sunny flower in the garden and the one that is grown on the windowsill can get sick.

If you notice spots (round or oval) on the stems and leaves of a sunflower that dry out over time, this is brown spotting.

Phyllosticosis can spread through soil, water, and even be carried by the wind from neighboring diseased plants. The development of the disease occurs rapidly at high air temperatures (above +26 ° C) and high humidity.

Immediately, as soon as spots appear, the affected parts of the plant must be removed. And if a sunflower is grown in a room, set it aside from healthy plants. After removing the affected part of the plant, the tools and hands must be treated with alcohol, and the place of the cut on the culture should be sprinkled with activated charcoal. On the initial stage development, these measures are enough to prevent.

If the disease continues to spread, the culture must be treated with special chemical antifungal drugs - fungicides. For example:

Vectra preparation - diluted in a bucket of water (2-3 mg);
drug Abiga-peak - diluted in half a bucket of water (40-50 g);
Strobi preparation - diluted in a bucket of water (4 g).

The resulting composition is carefully sprayed over the entire aerial part of the plant.

Rust. This is also a big problem for the ornamental sunflower. The causative agent of the disease is a rust fungus. It is manifested by the appearance on the leaves or stems of pustules - bubbles of bright orange color, which, when ripe, burst. The pustules contain an orange powder inside.

To avoid the appearance of rust on the leaves of an ornamental sunflower, you must comply with all agrotechnical standards for caring for it: weed and loosen the soil, remove weeds.

You can eliminate the disease with the help of fungicides.

Decorative sunflower: video

Decorative sunflower: photo

Sunflower has many health benefits

Sunflower treatment is widely used in folk medicine

Sunflower, or dormouse, is an unpretentious and very effective plant. Large bright yellow, like the sun, sunflower flowers turn towards the sun's rays and invariably attract everyone's attention. But not everyone knows that almost the entire plant - from roots to petals - has powerful medicinal properties. Although the sunflower appeared in Russia relatively recently, in the 18th century. Sunflower seeds were brought from Mexico, where the "grass of the sun" or "Peruvian flower of the sun" has been known for more than one hundred years.

sunflower leaves

Sunflower seeds in cooking

Sunflower seeds can be used to make many original dishes. We offer you some interesting recipes.

Potato dumplings with seeds. Potatoes (10 pcs.) Grate, put on a double gauze, squeeze, mix with 200 g of cottage cheese and 50 g of peeled sunflower seeds, knead, make large dumplings the size of Walnut. Boil them in salted boiling water in small portions for 10-15 minutes. Take out with a slotted spoon, pour over the sauce.
For the sauce: fry the onion until golden brown, mix with sour cream, sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Salad with champignons and seeds. Fry the seeds until golden brown, tear the lettuce leaves with your hands into a salad bowl, cut the mushrooms into slices and fry in vegetable oil, adding lemon juice. Prepare the dressing: finely chop the garlic, chop the parsley, mix, add vegetable oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Mix mushrooms and roasted seeds, pour dressing and mix.

Kozinaki from seeds. Fry peeled sunflower seeds (250 g) in a pan, cook 250 g of honey, stirring constantly, until a drop does not spread on a saucer. Pour seeds into boiling honey and cook until thickened. Put the resulting mass on an enameled sheet moistened with water, with a layer 1 cm thick. Cut the still warm layer into squares or rhombuses and dry until hardened. Sunflower seeds can be substituted for sesame seeds or crushed pumpkin seeds.

Salad "Sunflower"

A few years ago, this salad was a real hit. holiday table- He really looks very impressive. In addition, the Sunflower salad is very tasty, and cooking it is easy and simple. Moreover, children love to take part in the “decoration” of the salad, so you can call this dish a real family art. So, how to cook a salad "Sunflower with chips".
Cook chicken fillet(0.5 kg), cool and finely chop. Hard boil 3 eggs, grate the yolks on a fine grater, and whites on a coarse grater. Marinated champignons (200 g jar) finely chopped. Grate hard cheese (150–200 g). Cut pitted olives in half.

Now the most interesting thing is to spread the salad in layers on a beautiful plate in the center. The first layer is chicken fillet, pour mayonnaise on top (it is best to make a mayonnaise "mesh" so as not to overdo it with the quantity). The second layer is mushrooms and again pour mayonnaise. The third layer is egg whites and mayonnaise again. The fourth layer is grated cheese and mayonnaise. The last layer is chopped yolks. Lay the olive halves on top of them. To give the salad the appearance of a sunflower, we make petals from chips around (for this, Pringles chips are used, since they have the same even shape). We put the salad in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. After that, we serve it to the table and surprise the guests!
Advice. You can also serve other salads in the form of a sunflower, for example, the traditional Mimosa salad with fish, or chicken salad, or salad with crab sticks and corn, or even the usual Olivier.