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Decorative sunflower, or helianthus, is an unpretentious herbaceous annual from the Asteraceae family, the varietal diversity of which includes more than 150 items. The seeds of this flower, unlike its sowing “namesake”, are not eaten. It is famous for others – for its decorative qualities, decorating hedges, flower beds and front gardens, decorated in the style of “country”, or creating a cozy atmosphere, blooming in a container on the window of a city apartment. In addition, decorative sunflower looks great in bouquets. Helianthus is unpretentious and requires minimal care, so even a novice florist will not be difficult to grow bright little “suns” of the desired shade, shape and height on the windowsill or in the garden.
Description of decorative sunflowers
The homeland of the decorative sunflower is considered to be southern Mexico. Today, this plant is successfully grown all over the world. A huge number of its varieties are distinguished by a rich palette of colors, a variety of shapes and sizes of petals, the diameter of inflorescences, and the height of the stems.
All kinds of decorative sunflowers combine the following features:
- large, bright, beautiful flowers, invariably eye-catching;
- multi-petal inflorescence-basket;
- dense strong stem, covered with a small amount of bristly-pubescent, wrinkled hard leaves arranged oppositely or alternately;
- fruits – small oblong seeds in a dense outer shell;
- subtle pleasant aroma;
- ease of reproduction;
- long flowering – from mid-summer until autumn frosts;
- unpretentious care.
The decorative sunflower is a charming bright annual flower that grows equally well both in an outdoor front garden and in a flowerpot on a sunny window.
All varieties of this flower, so beloved by landscape designers and florists, can be grouped according to various criteria.
So, if the classification is based on the height of the plant, then it will be possible to distinguish such decorative sunflowers:
- giant, the stems of which grow up to 2-3 m;
- medium height, 1-1,5 m in height;
- low, from 0,6 to 1 m;
- compact, not exceeding half a meter in height.
In the form of inflorescences, helianthus are:
- ordinary;
- semi-double;
- terry.
Petals of decorative sunflowers can be long and short, thin and thick. Depending on their form, one can also distinguish:
- round;
- straight;
- wavy;
- elongated;
- twisted.
The size of the inflorescences varies from 5 to 50 cm. The stems are straight and branched, each of them can have from 1 to 10 flowers.
Inflorescences of decorative sunflowers can be monophonic or painted in two or more colors. The outer petals can contrast with the center or match it tone on tone.
Most often in the color of decorative sunflowers there are shades of these colors:
- yellow;
- pink;
- orange;
- peach;
- cream
Varieties of decorative sunflowers
Concrete examples will help to visualize the variety of decorative sunflowers. It is worth dwelling on a brief description of the most common varieties.
Teddy-bear
Dwarf Sungold or Teddy Bear (Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear) is one of the most popular low varieties of ornamental sunflower in domestic gardens. On compact (0,4-0,6 m) stems are densely double flowers 10-20 cm in diameter. Outwardly, they resemble fluffy yellow-orange fur pom-poms, the middle of which is almost invisible. They are planted one by one and in groups. Often used in mixborders, discounts, alpine slides, for decorating fences and buildings in the interior of the “rural landscape”. Grows in pots on sunny balconies. Looks great cut.
The flowers of the terry variety Medvezhonok look like fluffy yellow-orange pompoms
Vanilla Ice
Vanilla Ice, or Vanilla Ice, is a very beautiful variety of decorative sunflower, which is most often grown for bouquets. Simple inflorescences on high one and a half meter stems have delicate pale yellow petals, contrasting with a large dark brown core. This variety is often planted in flower borders. It also looks good in potted patios.
Delicate inflorescences of Vanilla Ice look great in bouquets
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge refers to decorative red sunflowers. Its height is 1-1,5 m, the shape of the basket is simple, and the color of the petals is a rich beet-burgundy, with a transition from lighter edges to a dark center. He acts as an excellent soloist in the background of a multi-tiered border or flower bed. Very effective for cutting.
The uneven coloration of the beet-burgundy petals of the Moulin Rouge resembles a velvet theater curtain.
red sun
Somewhat reminiscent of the previous variety, but refers to the giant (about 2 m in height). On thick massive stems are red-brown flowers with a dark center and contrasting yellow “tongues” on the outer edge of each petal. The diameter of the inflorescences of this decorative sunflower is 20-30 cm. The variety is very good in decorating hedges and creating flower walls.
The bright, fiery flowers of the tall Red Sun variety are perfect for hedges.
Kong
Giant Kong is the highest variety of ornamental sunflower: its stems reach 5 meters in height. Bright yellow flowers with a dark center set off beautifully large dark green leaves. Looks great in hedgerows.
Giant Kong – the tallest of the ornamental sunflowers
Pacino
Pacino is a group of dwarf varieties of an ornamental sunflower, the height of which does not exceed 0,4 m. Each stem forms many shoots that hold simple inflorescences. Their color depends on the variety. At Pacino-Cola (Pacino-Cola) golden petals are combined with a brown center. Pacino-Gold has a greenish flower center. For Pacino-Lemon (Pacino-Lemon) is characterized by a lemon-yellow color of the petals and a yellowish-green core. Often a mix of these varieties is planted in flower beds. Grows well in pots.
Pacino-Cola is one of the ornamental sunflower varieties of the Pacino dwarf group.
Music Box
Music Box, or the Music Box, are undersized (up to 0,4 m) branched decorative sunflowers, the variegated petals of which are painted in bright yellow, golden and reddish-brown tones. Used in group plantings, flower beds and flower beds. Good for cutting.
Music Box – undersized variegated sunflowers that look great in a group
When to plant ornamental sunflowers
In most regions of the country, ornamental sunflower seeds are sown directly in open ground when it warms up enough, and the air temperature does not fall below + 10-12 ° C. This usually happens in late April or early May.
In regions with a harsh climate (in the Far East, the Urals, Siberia), it is also possible to grow an ornamental sunflower in the garden, but for this it is advisable to resort to the seedling method. Seeds are sown in small pots and placed on a lighted window, periodically watering. Seedlings begin to germinate about a month before the date of their intended landing on the site.
When growing an ornamental sunflower at home, it is best to sow 2-3 seeds in small containers at the very beginning of spring. After a couple of weeks, after germination, the strongest seedling should be left in the pot, and at the beginning of summer, transplant it into a box or flowerpot that is suitable in size.
Planting and caring for a decorative sunflower in the open field
Decorative sunflower does not apply to capricious plants that need constant care and guardianship. However, he also has preferences regarding planting and care, which should not be ignored.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
The best area for growing ornamental sunflowers is a site with the following characteristics:
- abundantly and brightly lit;
- protected from strong wind;
- with fertile, light and moist soil, ideally, sandstone;
- The soil should be well-drained to prevent standing water at the roots.
It is best to prepare a place for planting helianthus in the fall. It is recommended to manually remove dry foliage, stems and rhizomes of plants from the site, and then dig the soil to the depth of one bayonet of a shovel. In parallel, it is recommended to enrich it with organic fertilizers or ready-made complex compounds.
Most often, ornamental sunflower seeds are planted in open ground, although the seedling method is also practiced in cold regions.
Rules of landing
The day before planting in the ground, decorative sunflower seeds should be prepared. To do this, it is necessary to prepare a solution of wood ash (1 tablespoon per 0,5 l of water) and soak a cotton napkin in it abundantly. Decorative sunflower seeds should be wrapped in this fabric and left for 24 hours, additionally moistening it with a solution as it dries.
After that, you can land:
- On the site, pits should be dug about 6 cm deep. It is advisable to leave a distance of 70-80 cm between rows, and 30-70 cm between holes in one groove, depending on whether the variety is compact or large.
- In each hole, you need to put 2-3 seeds of a decorative sunflower and lightly deepen them (but not more than 3 cm).
- After sowing, you should slightly roll the bed.
The first shoots can be seen approximately in 6-10 days.
Watering and top dressing
Decorative sunflower loves abundant and regular watering, but moisture should not stagnate. Usually it is watered once a week, during the dry period – a little more often. After each moistening, the soil needs to be loosened, while getting rid of weeds.
If the seeds were planted in fertile soil, then it is not necessary to fertilize the planting of decorative sunflowers. In the event that the soil is poor, it is worth feeding the plants with organic matter or complex compounds at the beginning of growth.
Reproduction of decorative sunflowers
The decorative sunflower is propagated by growing from seeds. Collecting them yourself is not difficult. The inflorescences from which it is planned to obtain a “harvest” at the stage of seed ripening must be carefully tied with gauze or a light mesh, protecting from birds. When the time comes, the heads of the decorative sunflower should be carefully cut off and dried well in a ventilated area. After that, the seeds can be removed from the baskets, but not necessarily: they can also be stored in dry inflorescences.
Diseases and pests of ornamental sunflowers
In order for the helianthus to bloom for a long time, beautifully and abundantly, the plantings should be regularly inspected for diseases or damage by pests.
Among the most common ailments of ornamental sunflowers:
- Rust. It is characterized by the appearance on the leaves and stems of numerous orange pustules with spores of the fungus, which ripen and burst, infecting new plants. The young foliage of an ornamental sunflower dies prematurely, the baskets do not have time to develop. The source of infection is plant residues, as well as cocklebur weed, susceptible to this disease. Timely weeding and loosening of the soil contribute to the prevention of the disease. Rust is treated with fungicides (Ultrafit).
Rust is characterized by the appearance of numerous orange pustules on the leaves.
- White rot. A fungal disease that affects all organs of an ornamental sunflower. In the root form, the processes soften and get wet, a white coating appears on them. The stem form is manifested by brown-gray spots on the surface of the stems, they are quickly crushed and broken. Their core dries out, and mycelium develops in the resulting voids. In the basket form, light brown spots with a white coating appear on the back of the inflorescences, which lose their shape and dry with the seeds. Spreads in high humidity. Prevention – compliance with the rules of agricultural technology during planting and care, timely loosening of the soil, cleaning of plant residues. Treatment – treatment with fungicides (Piktor, Rovral) during the growing season.
White rot affects the roots, stem and inflorescences with seeds
- Downy mildew. Often carried by insect pests (aphids, scale insects, worms). It affects the leaves, on the outside of which dark spots appear, and on the inside – a white coating. Plants change color, lag behind in development and growth. Thickened plantings should be thinned out, the affected areas removed using sterile tools. Next, decorative sunflowers should be sprayed with an aqueous solution of copper sulfate (3 g per 1 liter) with the addition of laundry soap, steamed in boiling water and cooled wood ash (350 g per 1 liter), or chemicals (Fitosporin-M, Previkur).
White bloom on the back of the leaf may be a sign of downy mildew.
Often, plantings of ornamental sunflowers (especially those in the vicinity of which their industrial “brother” grows) suffer from broomrape. This is a flowering plant that does not have its own roots. It parasitizes sunflower, inhibiting its development and slowing down growth, and increases its vulnerability to fungal diseases. It is advised to give preference to broomrape-resistant varieties. Affected plants should be dug up and destroyed, and the soil in the area should be treated with herbicides to a depth of 20 cm.
Broomrape is a parasitic plant that seriously harms sunflowers.
A dangerous enemy of a decorative sunflower is aphid. Leaves, flowers and buds affected by it turn yellow and curl, on the wrong side of them you can see sticky secretions of insects. With a weak lesion, treating the plants with a soapy solution will help. If there are a lot of parasites, insecticidal preparations should be used (Aktellik, Bison, Iskra, Biotlin, Commander).
Twisted and yellowed leaves, possibly affected by aphids
Photo of decorative sunflowers
Decorative sunflowers are an excellent material for creating unique compositions in landscape design. They look great in pots on windows or balconies, as well as in cut form as part of bouquets.
Bright, colorful sunflowers form gorgeous hedges
If you sow seeds in groups with an interval of 1-2 weeks, you can get a continuously flowering flower bed.
Tall varieties look great in the background of the flower garden
A plot in the style of “country” is unthinkable without decorative sunflowers
Planting with terry varieties of helianthus looks very impressive
A bouquet of cut sunflowers in a vase will wonderfully decorate a room
Conclusion
The ornamental sunflower is an unpretentious annual plant with large beautiful flowers that grows equally well in an open-air flower bed and indoors in a sunny window. The variety of varieties, shapes and colors of helianthus is amazing, and caring for it is not difficult. If planted in fertile, light and well-drained soil, watered regularly and fertilized as needed, charming bright flowers will brighten a room or garden from July to October.
