Sunflower plant problems....?

[Fishmanwill]

We tried growing mammoth sunflowers this year and failed. I would like to ask the questions this year so I can correct it for next year.

We are in southeast New Mexico. We planted about 30 seeds in mid May in a sand clay mix with topsoil added rototilled 10-12" deep. We put a soaker hose and watered once or twice a week for about 15 minutes each time. Only about 20 seeds sprouted and grew.

About a month in I started noticing the leaves were curling up real tight and turning brown then falling off, but the plants kept growing. I sprayed them with soap. They got about 3-4' tall and got flower heads. The plants didn't get any taller then 5' tall and the flower heads started dying about 2 weeks ago and the petals started falling off.

I would like to find out what we did wrong or what happened so we can correct it for next year my daughter really wants tall sunflowers. Thank you.

 

[Beth_B]

Hmm your sunflowers certainly don't look very happy, but I don't know why, sorry. Have you done a very thorough check for bugs or other pests? And where did you get the seeds? Perhaps you got a cultivar not really suitable for your climate.

I have bird feeders and every year have sunflowers popping up in odd places. I have an 8-foot tall one growing from (I assume) one dropped by a bird.

 

[LIcenter]

My guess is, they were getting too much water. It's a no-frills plant that does not like to much attention paid to it. Once the seedlings are up, cut back on watering by at least half.

 

[BlueLotus]

You're probably need to soak your sunflower plants longer than fifteen minutes at a time. If you're worried about the water evaporating, you can do it at night. Or you can add a clay pot and pour water into it and let it sweat it off naturally. My mom used to live in Arizona and she would mix some gravel into her clay soil to help it breathe since adding water to clay can make the top hard. I would make a special pile of compost just for the spot you're planning on planting for the next season to mix it the clay soil.