I am now happy to report that I have a total of 9 Dwarf Sunflower plants! They are very tiny right now (not even half an inch tall yet) - But I transplanted them all into their own pots. Dwarf Sunflower transplanted. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden )
Those 9 Dwarf Sunflower plants are growing very nicely in their clay pots. And amazingly, I seem to have an extra 4 more plants that germinated a bit late. So now I have a total of 13! Dwarf Sunflower plants in their pots. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) 4 new Dwarf Sunflower seedlings. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden )
OK, this is the lasted! 10 Dwarf Sunflowers in their pots. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) Dwarf Sunflower on 27th Dec. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden )
Oooh, maybe we'll get to see those blooms before too long. Your seedlings look very healthy and vigorous.
I seriously am so disappointed today... I wanted Dwarf Sunflowers, which would have been about a foot and a half tall, and with a flower the size of about 9 inches in diameter. Those I would have easily grown in clay pots, at my rooftop garden. However what I got are these... The packet also clearly stated: "40cm tall" (that's almost 16 inches). Heck! They are hardly 2 inches high, and even the flower is not symmetrical. And I seriously doubt if I'd even get any seeds out of these pathetic flowers... What's the explanation? Did I simply got cheated? Or were they really old seeds??? Dwarf Sunflower about to bloom. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) Dwarf Sunflower. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) 5cm tall Dwarf Sunflower. ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) Packet clearly said: "40cm tall". ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden )
I know what it's like to not get what you wanted out of a plant. So sorry that happened with your Dwarf Sunflowers. But you have to admit, even though it's not what you paid for/wanted... those are definitely dwarf!
Yes they are Dwarf alright, although only 2 inches tall... But I may have been happy with these too, if they had been symmetrical. However the packet did say that there will be only 1 flower per plant - So I guess that is the only thing which turned out to be accurate. Now exactly where can I hope to get genuine Dwarf Sunflowers from??? I also feel as if I wasted everyone's time over here by starting this thread... This video shows what I actually wanted to grow (and collect seeds from it too, so I would be able to grow it all the time). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zst08tm9s6M
Goodness that one is small. Is it the only seedling staying that small and setting bud already? The seeds in your packet were not all collected from the same plant, that one could have come a plant that was infected with a virus no one knew about. (That's how the striped Tulip came to be) I wonder if the field where the momma plants were grown had been sprayed with a chemical that could have caused this? Don't worry about wasting anyone's time with your post. You had no idea the plant wouldn't be what they advertised and besides it is still a cutie and we had fun watching it come to be.
Yes Toni, you sure do have a good point. We really did have fun at the start. However, now I think it would be a good idea to create a new section in GardenStew - Where we can all post about our bad experiences, so no one else ends up buying any seeds from that supplier... Just an idea which popped into me head. All 3 pictures are of different plants. And yes, so far all have turned out to be this way - No more then 2 inches tall, single flower, and that too is not symmetrical at all...
Hi S-H, Every experiment good or bad is a learning experience. We have watched your plants grow and even though the results were not what you expected they are unusual plants. I wonder if they will have seeds? Will they be true to the parent plant? All is not lost, the experiment may yet yield some interesting results. I for one would still like to see what happens. Go for it!! Don't give up!! The eternal optimist, Jerry
OK then, I will wait a little until I get some of them to seed. However the center of the flower is so small, that I simply cannot visualize how any seed (of the size which were in the original packet) will ever be formed over there. The flower is just too tiny... In the meantime, I'll now again be searching for some real Dwarf Sunflower seeds. So if anyone over here has got some, then I'd be willing to trade with a few exotic plant seeds of my own.
great thread s-h! so sorry you didn't get the results you wanted. am hoping you can reteive some seed maybe from these plants. you're right about them being awful small. could that be because the container was too small? my only experiences with dwarf sunflowers are these dwarf Teddy Bear Sunflowers i grew a couple years ago in the ground with great success...i have some seed i saved, but they are very old. if i can find them, i'll check the germination on them... here's some sources where you can buy dwarf sunflowers...not sure where you can get seed, the UK, US? http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/page6d1.htm http://www.turntothesun.org/sunflowers.html http://www.burpee.com/flowers/sunflower ... unflowers/ http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/0907
Thanks for the suggestion Bunkie. Unfortunately, most seed sellers which are online, don't sell outside the continental US and Canada - So the matter ends right there for me... And those that do (like some in UK as well as on Amazon-dot-COM), require a credit card or something like PayPal to make the payment - Both of which we Pakistanis are allergic to... We do use Western Union along with many other forms of quick and secure payments (like we do so with China almost everyday). But no one in the west seems to know of these methods. Anyway it doesn't matter anymore, as I have now bought even bigger pots. And have also gotten the regular Sunflower Seeds (local Pakistani seed). So the moment I have time, I'll plant those and post the results here again (in a new thread)!
i'm allergic to PayPal as well s-h! glad you found some seed. you know, one way to tell if they'll germinate or not and to get a head start on planting is to put the seeds between a damp paper towel or newspaper and keep them damp till they show germination. then just plant them. just a thought. looking forwrd to more of your experiments. what happened with that big onion?
