Hey there!

Are your sunflowers the *really* big kind? If so, how close together are they? If they are the *really* big ones, they will get about 8 to 10 feet tall planted in the sun. But in order to grow that big they can't be planted too close together. However, if you've started them all in one container, not in individual little pots of any sort, the roots may already been too entangled for you to separate them without killing them. My advice would be for you to transplant your whole container to a sunny spot in the yard, at the same depth they are growing in the container. If you have many, many growing close together you may want to sacrifice, yes, pull out, the weakest ones so that the others may grow stronger. This is called thinning and it's one of the hardest things gardeners have to do, especially if we've started from seed! But it's best for the plants. Next year you may want to invest in some peat pots so you can plant them individually and have more freedom. Also a really neat thing to do for kids is to plant a "sunflower house." Plant sunflowers in a sunny location in a circle, leaving an opening for a door. They will make a kind of a tent that kids can go into and feel like they're hiding.

Sunflowers do need a sunny location. I've found that it's not necessary to stake them--their stems are very sturdy. It's cool the way their heads turn with the sun, too. After you plant them in the yard make sure they get adequate water, but don't over do. And as an experiment you might try direct seeding some sun flowers now--they are one of the easiest ones to plant the seeds directly in the garden and not have to worry about transplanting. Oh and if you thought you were going to be harvesting seeds from them, think again -- the birds and squirrels will likely beat you too them!!

As far as your others go... I've not planted larkspur before, and am not sure what success you'll have with transplanting. Maybe someone else can help with that. I know that around here in south LA, we plant them in the fall and leave them over the winter and they grow and bloom in the late winter, early spring because they like it cool.

The marigolds should do fine. You might check the seed packet for germination time. If they're not even coming up yet, maybe they were planted too deeply. Some seeds, particularly tiny ones want to be right on the surface, or very lightly covered. I think Larkspur is one of those, come to think of it. Also make sure the seeds are fresh. If they're too old they will not germinate predictably.

What kind of space and sunlight do you have for growing outside? I might could suggest other things that would thrill a 4yr old.

Good luck!

Jane in BR, LA

Here is a link that might be useful: my garden

WOW jane! thanks so much for the great reply--some very helpful suggestions & ideas. gave me a lot to think about. first, i LOVE the "sunflower house" idea. although, i didn't do that this yr. it is definitely a "to do" next summer. my daughter would like that a lot i'm sure.

i FINALLY dug a bed for sunflowers about 5ft by 5ft. talk about hard work!?! i had 29 plants to start, ending up giving 8 away so left with 21. planted them in rows approx 18 inches apart. i didn't do the transplanting. a friend of mine's mom did. she is somewhat of a gardening expert. her yard is lovely. no, the roots weren't very entangled she said. it wasn't much trouble and it's been about a week since they went into ground. they seem to be doing just fine!! we've had quite a bit of rain lately, so i've been a little worried about the pounding rains washing them out as they are so newly transplanted. so far, they look good though. good thing is i haven't had to water in evening! not sure about their max height, but pretty sure they are the tall (over 7ft) type.

next yr. i will definitely invest in some peat pots as well. that would be so much easier and less worrisome. how many seeds per indiv. pot? just one?

in terms of larkspur, although supposed to be "full sun" i think our hot--high temps--weather is simply too much for them. we had a few days of "milder" temps with less sun/more clouds & i had a few sprouts starting, but then the heat/sun returned & sprouts have vanished!?! who knows? maybe i'll try planting some more towards the end of summer/beginning of fall as we have fairly mild winters here. given i did have some sprouts, i don't think it's a problem with the seed depth.

the marigolds were planted according to directions, very close to top of soil, barely covered. 3 wks still nothing. so i bought new pack of seeds from a different store. man oh man, i had sprouts in 2.5 days! i couldn't believe it either. it had to be those other seeds were old. so now in less than 1 wk my marigold plants are about 1/2 to 1 inch tall! they too are looking better everyday.

my front yard is small but gets full-sun most all day, from 7am to 4pm. the backyard is a little bigger & gets full-sun from 10am to 8pm. (those times are approx, give or take an hour). most of my plants are in the front. my tomatoes are REALLY off to a roaring start. in only 10 days, i have lots of sprouts about 2 inches tall. the only things NOT doing well in front that are supposed to be full-sun are the gerbera daisy & sundance gazania plants (one of each) i got at home depot. they've just withered & died. maybe too much sun/heat?

again, THANKS for your wonderful reply & taking the time to help me out as i begin my gardening adventures. i look forward to hearing from ya again as i'm new & will have more ?s & need more help in future i'm sure. take care.

--amy

p.s. if you have any plant ideas for a 4 yr old, i'm all ears. :)

My son at that age enjoyed growing "sunspot" sunflowers, which have the large flower heads but only grow to 3-4' in height. Very sturdy sunflowers, requiring no staking. Here I find that my large sunflowers need a little support when it is this rainy. I have big rocks stacked at the base of the plants to prevent them from falling over.

He also liked to grow the purple "magic" bush beans. The bean pods are purple, but when cooked they turn green just like all the other snap beans. Its not too late to plant them this year if you get them in the ground in the next week.

I always plant my sunflowers directly into the ground where they are to grow. Transplanting will reduce their vigor. Scatter larkspur seed on top of the ground in the fall, they will sprout over the winter and then in the spring shoot up and bloom.

Here is a link that might be useful: new pictures of arbor, squash, lavender, etc