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Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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Posted by ellen_s z5 centralMA (My Page) on Sat, May 14, 05 at 10:15
hi all
I grew Helianthus (Swamp Sunflower) this year from seed and have quite a few good seedlings. Does anybody know how big they will get, and if they will bloom, in their first year? I am trying to decide whether to put them in nursery beds or keep them in pots the first year.
Many thanks
Ellen |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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- Posted by Soeur z6b TN (My Page) on
Sat, May 14, 05 at 20:26
| For me they've bloomed eagerly the first year, and gotten really big -- like so big a gallon pot was way too small to hold the root mass well. Soeur |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| I don't know how they'll do in your climate, but here in N Louisiana they'll get to about 8'H and about 12' across, covered with blooms late Aug and Sep. |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| Glenn, Yikes! Then I guess the 18 inch distance I planted my two seedlings won't quite cut it! |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| Thanks all...I will be giving these plants lots of room right away... Ellen |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| The more water they get,the taller they become. This is my first year of growing this species,but I read about them online and my book on MD wetlands. They are pereinnals,and suppose to produce bulbs. If thats the case,I would have to keep dividing the bulbs every spring. I don't have mine in big pots either at this time. But if they need bigger pots,then they would have to wait until next year. |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| Any tips on growing these from seed? I've tried two years and failed completely. I finally found some plants at PineRidge Gardens in Arkansas and set them out in the field last winter. They've grown from very small to about 30" high already, but our dry season will probably slow them some. |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| I winter sowed seeds I got from New England Wildflower Society. I put the containers out in February, and I got decent germination. My seedlings are out there and thriving. Ellen |
Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing forum
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| Lord-a-Mercy! In the words of Ritchie Bell, "put this plant in a ditch, and it'll run to the state line!" IE, give em a bit of an inch, and they'll spread delightfully. Such a great plant, too! Just give them their just space. One Hint: If'n you want to make them less leggy, and more floriferous, whack 'em back by half in June, ala chrysanthemums. Fall Bloomers, so will recoup best well. |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| Phylla i've never cut my mums back. (Well after they die out for winter i cut dead stuff to just above ground lvl, but never cut them back while green)Right now one is about 36 inches high and 36 wide, looks like a big ol bush. Didn't flower much last year, so you say to spur flowering i should cut them way back in june. |
RE: Helianthus - Swamp Sunflower
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| Yep, cut them by 2/3 with hearty abandon, they'll branch right out for fall with more blooms, on more compact plants, and not flop all over the place. Most big perennial fall bloomers can be treated such. Wondering, though, if yours did not flower well at that size regardless of cut back, are they getting enough sun, too? |
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