Care for sunflowers: 5 top tips

Sunflowers are one of the most symbolic flowers when it comes to this time of year as the summer kicks off and sunshine fills the air with heat and the fragrances of fresh flowers. Do you know how to care for sunflowers?. It can be hard to know exactly how to care for these beautiful flowers, but we’ve put together a list of our five top tips to make sure that you get the most out of your bouquet.

care for sunflowers with water

One of the most difficult questions when it comes to caring for flowers is how much you should water them, and it’s no different for sunflowers. Sunflowers love drinking water, and need quite a lot of it, but overwatering can cause major problems.

We recommend that you water your plants once a day, but whenever your sunflowers are starting to look dry, you should always give them a top up of water and that will usually bring them back to normal in no time.

Be very careful not to overwater though, as overwatering of sunflowers loosens up the soil if you are keeping them as plant and this means that they struggle to remain standing upright, and can also rot the roots, which makes overwatering one of the biggest risks to the health of a sunflower.

Give them flower food

You know that little sachet that comes with flowers when they get delivered? That’s flower flood! It might not look quite as tasty as some of our meals, but it’s just as good for the flowers in terms of nutrients and what they need to stay healthy and grow.

If you want to know how to care for sunflowers, then this is the easiest step you are likely to encounter. If you are growing your own sunflowers, or didn’t get any with your bouquet, then you can always pop into your local gardening centre or a local florist where you can easily get some cheaply. It’s like gold dust for flowers!

Make sure they have enough light

Whilst the myths of sunflowers turning to face the sun throughout the day are unfortunately not true, they still need a lot of light. Such flowers are known as heliotropic, and whilst sunflowers aren’t heliotropic, they do love some sunlight, as you can guess from their name!

If they are in your bouquet, make sure that they are close enough to a source of natural light, but not so close that it is too intense. It is easy to forget, but a big pane of glass only concentrates the heat on the flower more and if too close will damage you beautiful sunflowers.

Check the temperature is right

Flowers are gentle just like us humans! Where do you think the expression ‘to wilt in the heat’ came from?! As sunflowers are used to growing in outside weather conditions, you should always try to ensure that they remain at room temperature.

During the warm summer months this can be difficult, but with windows open it should be possible to ensure that your sunflowers remain in the best condition if you keep them indoors. That said, whilst flowers should always be kept near a breeze, make sure that they aren’t in the way of a strong breeze as it damages the leaves and petals of the flower and can mean that they wilt sooner. Don’t be afraid to add a tad of extra water on hot days.

Add a shot of vodka

You aren’t the only one who needs a drink every now again! Vodka, like carbonated soft drinks and aspirin has the effect of straightening the stem of flowers and can even extend their life for a few days. You can add a few drops to the water in a vase and watch your sunflowers come back to life, even if they have just started to wilt. This is the funnest way to care for sunflowers, but just remember that they can’t handle as much as you!

Has this all got you in the mood for sunflowers?! Celebrate summer in a way which is full of nature and style by checking out our wide range of summer flowers, including sunflowers, which will brighten up the home of someone you love for those days when the sun isn’t doing its job!