5 Benefits of Growing Sunflowers
Sunflowers brighten up the spaces and the faces! People love to grow sunflowers but many of us doubt bringing them inside our garden family.
Key takeaways:
- The sunflower plants come in a variety of colors and sizes from dwarf to giant ones.
- The sunflowers come in colors like yellow, red, and orange having faded stripes.
- The sunflowers are drought resistant which makes you less worried about the shiny and bright sunlight.
- They will keep on shining whether it’s strong light or not.
- Also for growing the sunflower, you need to keep them away from animals that eat sunflowers like Rabbits, Deer, Chipmunks, Birds, Pests, Insects, etc.
- Sunflowers have many benefits. From the yummy seeds you get to the detoxification of soil, the sunflower plants have many benefits.
Sunflowers are brilliant, trust us! They are great companions. We will unleash the top benefits of growing sunflowers.
About Sunflowers
Sunflowers are one of the adorable plants that are being cultivated by native Americans for developing oil, food, and flour. Do you know when this plant came into existence one Spanish person introduced this plant to Europe in the time of 1500s?
Then it was cultivated by Russians in the time of 1700s, and 1800s, and till today it is being cultivated there.
This variety of flowers is rich in oil production and is famous for its amazing flavor. Even it is grown by Canadian and American farmers in their home yards so that they can enjoy its benefits.
5 Benefits of Growing Sunflowers
Below are the benefits of growing sunflowers. They are explained beautifully, so you can grow them in your yard as it will add magic to your area. They are as follows:
Pollinators will keep visiting your garden
Pollinators love bright-colored flowers especially when they are huge in size. The big red flowers bring a lot of helpful insects and pollinators into the garden. Though there are small-sized sunflowers available in the market.
All decisions go to you on which size you want. Anyhow sunflowers are great attractants to pollinators and help in pollination. Many types of bees, honey bees get attracted to the beautiful sunflowers and suck the nectar of the flower where the pollens get attacked on their legs. This pollen then transfers to the other flowers they hover to and help in pollination.
Health benefits
You already know this I guess! I promise the sunflower crops are excellent nutritious food for both humans and birds. The birds love the seeds of ten sunflowers. The seeds of sunflowers and even the carrier sunflower oil are great sources of vitamins, fats, and fiber.
The fats that are plant-based are extremely popular these days. Just note that they are loaded with many essential supplements like copper, selenium, manganese, etc. The sunflower seeds should be kept clean and away from harmful chemicals.
Using organic methods to care for the plant will be beneficial if you are planting it for food as well. I mean what’s best if you get free sunflower seeds that are super costly in the market with the preservatives as a con?
Sunflowers have so many healthy benefits kike their anti-inflammatory properties, lowering the risk of cancer, boosting immunity, lowering blood pressure, having antioxidants, being used in medicines that treat malaria, etc.
Sunflowers are natural weed suppressors
The sunflowers have this great ability that they don’t let the weeds come near the area where they are growing. The sunflowers symbolize loyalty which they perform in the garden too. The plants protect the other plants from the weeds with the plant inhibitors they release.
Though sunflowers are good companions for some plants, this doesn’t mean they cannot be bad. They are bad companions to some plants too like beans, potatoes, etc. It is important that you have provided a good space for the other plants.
To know more about the plant world, you may also read related articles, 6 Benefits of Growing Tomatoes rather than Store Buying
Get gorgeous cut flowers
With the pollen sunflower virtues, you can get great cut flowers as it is not always the nutritional need, you might want the beautiful colored sunflower options. The sunflower plants have beautiful flower heads that are great attraction mediums. The sunflowers are not limited to one color only but also the shades like red, Purple, and orange.
The red and purple varieties hardly produce any pollen. The sunflower heads are greatly used in making luxurious-looking bouquets. The florist loves to grow the sunflowers, as they are super convenient to grow and low maintenance.
Sunflowers are beautiful and you can simply use the cut flowers in the vase placed on the table and simply enjoy the beauty they will give with the elegance.
Detoxifying the soil
When you are growing so many plants in the garden there are chances that the soil will get dirty or contaminated with chemicals or other factors. The toxins in the soil can affect the plants. Even though there are not many plants in the garden, the soil still can get contaminated whether by acid rain, or environmental factors.
The sunflower plants remove the toxins from the soil and also the heavy metals like lead, copper, and manganese that can affect the other plants and the fertility of the soil. The sunflower parts are a great source of manure and increase the water retention quality of the soil.
How to Grow Sunflowers?
Do you want to add this amazing variety to your home garden? If yes, then you should know that flowers are easy to grow plants. So follow the below steps to learn how to grow flowers in your area. They are as follows:
- Sunflowers will grow best in warm environmental areas so you have to choose the location best for the plant.
- you have to show the seeds in the good organic mix or in the seed-raising mix.
- Additionally, you can also show them directly in the compost that is rich.
- The best time to plant your flowers is the action you are putting in as soon as you start to plant them the sooner they will germinate.
- You have to provide a good mix to the plant and keep the soil moist.
- Keep in mind that the soil should not be watered as it will not help the plant to grow.
Wrapping up the context
We hope you find the information in this article helpful. We have tried to put front-the-top benefits that you must know while growing sunflowers. The sunflowers are great to grow in a sunny spot where the plant gets 5-6 hours of sun per day.
Sunflowers are one of the adorable plants that are being cultivated by native Americans for developing oil, food, and flour. Do you know when this plant came into existence one Spanish person introduced this plant to Europe in the time of 1500s?
In this article, you get to know the maximum benefits the sunflowers provide. Sunflowers are also used in companion planting and have many health benefits. Happy growing up!
Thanks for reading! Happy Gardening!
FAQs
How long do sunflowers live?
The sunflowers are cared for well then the plant can live up to 13 to 15 weeks otherwise the sunflower plants can survive a week or two weeks. The sunflower’s variety is weak, the life span will be reduced. So make sure you buy a high variety of sunflowers.
What do sunflowers do at night?
The sunflowers turn with the sun’s rays. The sun sets then the sunflowers move in the east direction again and the sun will rise again the next morning. This movement will stop as the sunflowers will get old. The flowers at that time will stay facing the east direction waiting for insects to spread the pollen and new sunflowers will be formed.
Why do farmers grow sunflowers?
Farmers love sunflowers as they don’t need to use chemicals or plant inhibitors as this work is done by the sunflowers themselves in competing with the weeds and not letting them grow in the garden. The sunflowers help in deterring the disease from the plants as well. Just not that they are great food crops so it is obvious that farmers will grow them happily.
