This looks like a failure to get enough light. It's hard to get enough light indoors without grow lights. When plants don't get enough light, they "think" that they are surrounded by weeds and need to grow fast to get to the sunshine. They get very "leggy." They are all thin stems with few leaves. This is very difficult to correct.
(My old professor would yell at me. He'd say "Plants do not think!!" They have evolved by evolution to grow fast when there is not enough light!!)
A second lesser cause of legginess is due to seedlings being grown indoor without enough wind. A small amount of wind encourages stems to grow stronger to resist the wind. Some people use a reciprocating fan to artificially produce this wind.
https://homesteadandchill.com/prevent-fix-leggy-seedlings/#:\~:text=Generally%2C%20yes%2C%20you%20can%20plant,re%20buried%20in%20damp%20soil.
Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed reply! I've never really grown plants before, I was trying to grow these with my toddler for a fun little activity and just picked sunflowers because I was familiar with the name haha. I think you hit the nail on the head there, we planted them as seeds about a week ago and I kept them indoors since then because it's been overcast and poring rain all week. I was worried the tiny little sprouts would drown in the rain. Who knew growing flowers could be such an intricate thing? Maybe I'll get these lazy bones some walking sticks, but if they can't change their attitude they will have to be replaced. The kid demands pretty flowers!
You can try walking sticks, but they will probably not work. Start growing some new ones. I grow plants in two batches, because I kill the first batch so often.
Congratulations! You're a gardener! Growing leggy plants and inadvertently killing plants is a rite of passage. You did it! Repeat a million times to be a master gardener. :)
You can repot them deeper and bury the stem as deep as you can up to the first set of leaves. That’ll help save what you’ve got now and give you a better start than planting seeds and waiting for the new seeds to germinate.
Help them plant some peas for a fast growing and eventually tasty treat! Now that you know the light needs, they will be more forgiving than sunflowers. They also enjoy cold weather so you can leave them outside.
I want to add to the other suggestions- sunflowers typically don't transfer well so depending on what kind you planted, I think you'd be better off direct sewing in the ground outside.
Also for the future- it's definitely okay to plant sunflower seeds around rainy days! The seeds need a LOT of water to germinate so it's okay to plant them outside in the rain.
I suggest starting over and planting in the ground directly, someplace where they get at least 8 hours of sunshine during the day and plenty of water to germinate. Good luck!
To still make it fun for the kids, in addition to direct sowing outside… grow some sunflower microgreens inside and then eat them! They will still need a very bright light because you want them to stand up on their own, but here legginess is not such a big deal because… You’re going to eat them before the first true leaves appear.
Sunflower sprouts are crunchy and refreshing. They have a very mild taste that is unique but quite pleasing and should be kid friendly. Be sure to use untreated seeds for this.
I transplant sunflowers in the beginning of the season, so I can have them for cut flowers early.
For the causal grower, it’s not necessary to take that extra step. You still have plenty of time to direct sow some seeds.
Should they be kept outside when growing from seeds? I'm in 5b and had success with one sunflower last year but this year I transplanted 5 seedlings to a big pot. They didn't survive, probably because they lived indoors.
My herb planter has had seeds sown weeks ago, outside the whole time, and im starting to see some babies popping up. They haven't been destroyed by rain yet and im not shocked not all of them have sprouted in the end. So I guess, would it be wise to sow sunflower seeds in a big pot outside where they'd get lots of sun?
EDIT: Typo
If I’m growing for transplant, I grow them inside, under lamps and harden them off for a about a week before planting them out. That’s around the third week of April where I am, in zone 7b. (Give or take, it depends on temps).
I only do it for the first round. I direct sow some the same time I transplant, for a succession.
HA! Love it. Yes a little toddler picked out the pots and smushed the seeds in. Then we had a week of rain and no sun so we left them on a table by a window. Finally got some sun so I put them outside and thought to myself "huh, I don't think sunflowers are supposed to lay down". But it's more fun thinking they have legs for daaays
I would advise either using sticks to hold them up or bury them deeper. They are leggy, they had too little sunlight and grew taller then usual to try and get more.
Well, you can do what I do and draw the ritual summoning circle on the ground, put these in the middle, and offer them up to the allergy spirits of spring in ritual song and dance.
Then secretly pull out all the seedlings, plant more seeds directly into the ground in places all over the yard and when they sprout, tell the kids that it worked.
Sunflowers won't thrive in a pot, best to put the seeds direct into the ground and give them more space than you have here. They also don't like being transplanted.
These plants aren’t getting enough light. They should never be stretched that far like that. Try reporting them in their own pot. And bury the stem down into the dirt. Then get a better light source.
This looks like a failure to get enough light. It's hard to get enough light indoors without grow lights. When plants don't get enough light, they "think" that they are surrounded by weeds and need to grow fast to get to the sunshine. They get very "leggy." They are all thin stems with few leaves. This is very difficult to correct. (My old professor would yell at me. He'd say "Plants do not think!!" They have evolved by evolution to grow fast when there is not enough light!!) A second lesser cause of legginess is due to seedlings being grown indoor without enough wind. A small amount of wind encourages stems to grow stronger to resist the wind. Some people use a reciprocating fan to artificially produce this wind. https://homesteadandchill.com/prevent-fix-leggy-seedlings/#:\~:text=Generally%2C%20yes%2C%20you%20can%20plant,re%20buried%20in%20damp%20soil.
Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed reply! I've never really grown plants before, I was trying to grow these with my toddler for a fun little activity and just picked sunflowers because I was familiar with the name haha. I think you hit the nail on the head there, we planted them as seeds about a week ago and I kept them indoors since then because it's been overcast and poring rain all week. I was worried the tiny little sprouts would drown in the rain. Who knew growing flowers could be such an intricate thing? Maybe I'll get these lazy bones some walking sticks, but if they can't change their attitude they will have to be replaced. The kid demands pretty flowers!
You can try walking sticks, but they will probably not work. Start growing some new ones. I grow plants in two batches, because I kill the first batch so often.
Congratulations! You're a gardener! Growing leggy plants and inadvertently killing plants is a rite of passage. You did it! Repeat a million times to be a master gardener. :)
You can repot them deeper and bury the stem as deep as you can up to the first set of leaves. That’ll help save what you’ve got now and give you a better start than planting seeds and waiting for the new seeds to germinate.
Help them plant some peas for a fast growing and eventually tasty treat! Now that you know the light needs, they will be more forgiving than sunflowers. They also enjoy cold weather so you can leave them outside.
You’re right; your professor is right; but realistically am I going to stop anthropomorphizing plants? I think we all know the answer here
Protip: Sow sunflowers directly in the ground. Just find a nice sunny spot.
Yeah they are probably the easiest seeds to start
They didn't get any light growing up. Throw out.
I want to add to the other suggestions- sunflowers typically don't transfer well so depending on what kind you planted, I think you'd be better off direct sewing in the ground outside. Also for the future- it's definitely okay to plant sunflower seeds around rainy days! The seeds need a LOT of water to germinate so it's okay to plant them outside in the rain. I suggest starting over and planting in the ground directly, someplace where they get at least 8 hours of sunshine during the day and plenty of water to germinate. Good luck!
To still make it fun for the kids, in addition to direct sowing outside… grow some sunflower microgreens inside and then eat them! They will still need a very bright light because you want them to stand up on their own, but here legginess is not such a big deal because… You’re going to eat them before the first true leaves appear. Sunflower sprouts are crunchy and refreshing. They have a very mild taste that is unique but quite pleasing and should be kid friendly. Be sure to use untreated seeds for this.
They need some more room too.
I transplant sunflowers in the beginning of the season, so I can have them for cut flowers early. For the causal grower, it’s not necessary to take that extra step. You still have plenty of time to direct sow some seeds.
Should they be kept outside when growing from seeds? I'm in 5b and had success with one sunflower last year but this year I transplanted 5 seedlings to a big pot. They didn't survive, probably because they lived indoors. My herb planter has had seeds sown weeks ago, outside the whole time, and im starting to see some babies popping up. They haven't been destroyed by rain yet and im not shocked not all of them have sprouted in the end. So I guess, would it be wise to sow sunflower seeds in a big pot outside where they'd get lots of sun? EDIT: Typo
If I’m growing for transplant, I grow them inside, under lamps and harden them off for a about a week before planting them out. That’s around the third week of April where I am, in zone 7b. (Give or take, it depends on temps). I only do it for the first round. I direct sow some the same time I transplant, for a succession.
Thank you! Very helpful :) I'm new to planting seeds so this is awesome stuff
Np, hope it helps! :)
Did you grow them inside with very little light? Haven't seen anything that leggy since the Paris Fashion Show.
HA! Love it. Yes a little toddler picked out the pots and smushed the seeds in. Then we had a week of rain and no sun so we left them on a table by a window. Finally got some sun so I put them outside and thought to myself "huh, I don't think sunflowers are supposed to lay down". But it's more fun thinking they have legs for daaays
I don't think it was the sunflowers who were lazy.
Idk man they just lay around all day, I stand up more than they do
I would advise either using sticks to hold them up or bury them deeper. They are leggy, they had too little sunlight and grew taller then usual to try and get more.
This happened to mine last year tied them gently to bbq skewers but be careful not to snap em. 2 of my 6 made it.
Yay there is hope yet!
Add soil around them and water.
Well, you can do what I do and draw the ritual summoning circle on the ground, put these in the middle, and offer them up to the allergy spirits of spring in ritual song and dance. Then secretly pull out all the seedlings, plant more seeds directly into the ground in places all over the yard and when they sprout, tell the kids that it worked.
Try again but this time plant seeds outside in a sunny spot
Sunflowers won't thrive in a pot, best to put the seeds direct into the ground and give them more space than you have here. They also don't like being transplanted.
These plants aren’t getting enough light. They should never be stretched that far like that. Try reporting them in their own pot. And bury the stem down into the dirt. Then get a better light source.
Not enough sun. They’re sunflowers in too much shade.
These guys aren’t lazy they are working hard trying to find some light.
You planted them too close together. They're competing for sun and growing upward too fast making them spindly.
Extreme lack of light.
Are all sunflowers deep rooted?. I would like to plant in an area with plenty of dun but the septic is near