He currently prizes a foot stalk and a 24 in. In this article, Tom has generously agreed to share his method of growing giants like these in your home garden. Sunflowers need full sun; see hours of direct sunlight per day — the more the better if you are trying to grow them to their maximum potential.
Choose a well-drained location, and prepare your soil by digging an area of about feet in circumference to a depth of about 2 feet. Sunflowers are heavy feeders and deplete the soil more than many other crops — especially if you are growing them to reach a massive height so the nutrient supply must be replenished each season.
Work in a slow release granular fertilizer — one that also contains trace minerals — about 8 in. Tom uses Osmocote, but since I'm an organic gardener and raise rabbits, I plan to mix in a bucketful of composted rabbit manure plus a balanced slow-release granular fish fertilizer.
Depending on your soil, you may wish to add, in addition to composted manure and an organic slow-release balanced fertilizer, an organic amendment containing trace minerals such as greensand or dried seaweed. To sow seeds, water your soil, and press seeds 1 inch deep in clumps of seeds about in.
Put snail bait in a circle around the clump I like the product Sluggo because it is non-toxic to humans, pets and wildlife , and cover loosely with netting to protect emerging seedlings from birds. If the soil is kept moist, seedlings will appear within days. When the plants grow to 3 inches, thin them to the most vigorous 3 or 4. When they are a foot tall, thin them to 2, and when they reach 2 feet high, select the best, most vigorous candidate.
The point of this gradual thinning method is to ensure that you're left with at least one good seedling in the event that predators damage any of the others. Remember, it's critical to thin back to the best single seedling if you're going for giant sunflowers. Leaving even several seedlings growing too close together will keep you from growing a giant in your garden. Feed often and water regularly. This can prevent the top-heavy plants from tipping over and snapping, something that is common during heavy rainfall and windstorms.
Most Russian Mammoth sunflowers only produce one bloom, so once the plant has bloomed and the petals start to die back you can remove the plant if desired. Use an organic mulch, like shredded leaves, compost, or wood chips, if you want the soil to absorb some nutrients while also improving moisture retention.
When applying mulch, do so at a depth of one to two inches and be sure to keep the mulch away from the stem of the plant.
This can prevent rot. You will also need to fertilize your plants. This can be done around midseason but only is necessary if the growth seems to be stunted, your soil is not very fertile, or the foliage has turned a light green color. To fertilize, add a shovelful of compost in a circle around the plant — then water deeply to make sure it soaks all the way in. After the season has ended and the heads have hardened and turned brown, you should cut the stalks and remove any debris from your garden.
Most are fungal in nature and can easily be prevented by providing adequate spacing between plants again, this is where thinning your weakest plants can be beneficial! Fungal diseases are far more common in wet, humid conditions.
Most pests will leave sunflowers alone. However you may have to watch out for sunflower-specific pests like banded sunflower moths, sunflower beetles, sunflower stem weevils, and wireworms. Cutworms tend to be the most detrimental to sunflowers. They will damage the leaves and stems of young sunflowers, often leaving notches or holes or causing severe wilting.
More often than not, though, cutworms target sunflower stems, biting them completely and severing the plant, killing it before it has a chance to get started. You can protect sunflowers from cutworms by installing collars around your plants — you can buy these at farm and garden stores or easily make them by cutting rings out of toilet paper tubes. This will keep the cutworms away from your sunflowers when they are in their most fragile state of growth.
On average, Russian Mammoth sunflowers are mature sometime between 55 and days after planting. However, it will take a bit longer for your seeds to mature. To harvest the seeds, cutoff the flower heads along with 12 inches of the stalk still attached. The heads should be drooping and have turned a gray color on the back. You can hang the heads up by the stalks until the seeds have dried. Then you can enjoy them or put them in dry storage for the winter!
There are multiple benefits to growing Russian Mamoth sunflowers. Not only do they add intense interest to your garden, but they also attract all kinds of pollinators — perfect for keeping your vegetables healthy and growing well!
There are very few reasons not to grow these flowers — except, perhaps, if you are limited by space. While many of these do still offer the height and beauty you might be looking for, very few are quite as gargantuan as Russian Mammoth sunflowers! Have you grown sunflowers before? Will you grow Russian mammoth sunflower in your garden? Here are some seed companies that offer Mammoth Sunflower Seeds:.
Mammoth Sunflower seeds can be ordered any time of year, and generally ship in the winter or early spring in time for spring planting. Mammoth Sunflowers are wonderfully forgiving in the types of soil they can grow in. While they prefer loamy soil, they can be grown in quite sandy soil and are also clay-tolerant. Loam soil is a nice combination of sand, silt, and clay. It is known for its draining capabilities while still being able to retain water.
Loam soil is commonly used for many different plants, and mammoth sunflowers are no exception. While loam soil is ideal for mammoth sunflowers, a wide variety of soils could be used for planting. These sunflowers are not picky about their soil and can grow in many different soils. Mammoth sunflowers need full sun to grow.
They need at least six hours of direct sunlight a day to thrive. However, they grow better with closer to eight hours of full light. They can be planted in shady spots, but expect the plants to be stunted and the flowers to be small. If full sunlight is not available, then you could consider artificial lights if room allows. Artificial lights will be as close as possible to natural lighting, and could be more effective than trying to grow your sunflowers in full shade.
Mammoth sunflowers are durable, so they will likely survive even with artificial lighting. Mammoth Sunflowers do not need a large amount of water to reach their full potential. While they are drought-tolerant, their impressive height can be stunted by lack of water, especially in the first few months of life.
Unless conditions are overly dry, they only need one inch of water per week. If the area you live in receives a lot of rainfall, then you may not need to water your sunflowers at all. Mammoth sunflowers need about three months to reach their maximum height. A common plan is a long rectangle with the short side containing the door facing north. Plant "Mammoth" seeds every 6 inches in a row where you want them to grow to form the walls.
Intersperse short- and medium-height sunflower varieties behind and in front of "Mammoth" to make the walls denser if you choose. Carolyn Csanyi began writing in , specializing in topics related to plants, insects and southwestern ecology. By Carolyn Csanyi. Related Articles. Vegetable Gardens "Russian Mammoth" grows 10 to 12 feet tall with flower heads 12 to 24 inches wide. Bee and Butterfly Gardens Sunflowers are bee magnets.
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