How Much Water Does A Sunflower Need? [+Growing Tips!] -

Are you wondering, How Much Water Does A Sunflower Need? Here is a quick and easy guide to keeping your sunflowers hydrated and happy!

There is no denying that sunflowers are pretty amazing flowers. Just looking at one will make you feel pretty happy, and sunflowers make the perfect decorative feature for your garden.

Like every kind of plant, it is always difficult to work out how much to water a sunflower. We assume that because they grow into such giant plants they will need gallons of water.

Here, we are going to go through exactly how much water a sunflower needs, and how you can look after your sunflower well.

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To Answer The Question…

So, the easiest answer to this question is that sunflower plants do need a lot of water. In comparison to most other flowers, sunflowers actually need a consistent and plentiful supply of water.

Place plug-in self-watering spikes to ensure your plant receives a constant water supply

Sunflowers grow pretty quickly, so they actually need about 2 gallons of water per week, especially during the early stages of their growth as this combats weak stems and other growth issues.

This is roughly 1-1.5 inches of rainwater per week, so if you live in a particularly sunny climate then be sure to top up your sunflower plants.

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The Growing Process

Sunflowers depend on a solid routine as they are growing, we’d say up until they reach the 2ft mark. The key time to water your sunflower is early in the morning before the sun hits them.

If you have had particularly hot weather, then watering your sunflower in the evening will also work well to see your sunflower through the nighttime.

You can use your own sense of judgement to decide if you need to top up your sunflower plants’ water supply depending on how the weather has been throughout the day. It is important to find the balance between malnutrition and over-watering.

All About The Soil

The way that sunflowers work is that they have a deep root system. This means that their roots burrow deep into the soil in order to support the head of the plant along with the tall and heavy stem.

Due to the fact that the roots on the sunflower burrow so deep into the soil, you need to ensure that your soil has adequate drainage because sunflowers struggle to grow in soil that is waterlogged.

Time To Talk Water

This is the part that you have been waiting for. Now, it is time to get into all things water.

To put it bluntly, sunflowers are thirsty plants.

This means that they will consume water at a pretty rapid pace. This is due to the relatively short season that they have to work with, so they need to obtain as much water and sunlight as possible.

Whether your sunflower is growing outside, or in a plant pot indoors, they will expect to be watered fairly regularly. When it comes to concentrating on where to water your sunflower you should aim to cover all bases.

Automatic drip irrigation can help with your plants watering needs!

Watering the base of your sunflower is really important, and watering the sunflower head itself is also important. This is good for keeping the head of the sunflower hydrated, and it also gets rid of gathering dust particles so that the whole plant will get access to a direct water supply.

If your sunflower is growing outside, it should be fairly content if there are rainfall 3 times a week, this will give your sunflower sufficient water. They are a plant after all, so they should be used to receiving just rainwater.

If you have been lucky enough to avoid the rain, then, of course, you can offer Mother Nature a helping hand and you can top up your sunflower plant accordingly.

When you are helping out Mother Nature, make sure that you water your sunflower and all of its root capacity.

So, where your sunflower burrows into the soil you need to ensure that you widen the reach of your water so that the vast majority of the roots get access to some of the water supply.

If you are growing your sunflowers in pots, then be sure that you use soil that has great drainage and that you water these sunflowers fairly regularly. Watering your potted sunflower plant daily is really important because potted sunflower plants are prone to drying out a lot quicker than those just planted into the ground.

But, there is a fine line between watering your plant sufficiently, and overwatering it. So, ensure that you have some self-control and that you do not water your plant so that it is floating amongst the soil.

This will have a negative effect on the roots’ dynamic with the soil, and the growth of your sunflower will not be that successful.

You do not want to waste all of your hard work growing your sunflower just to drown it in water.

Overall, when it comes to watering your sunflower try to go with the weather and be as flexible as possible. For instance, if the weather forecast tells you that it is going to rain then wait and see what happens before prematurely giving Mother Nature a helping hand.

You could end up overwatering your sunflower, and although this is not impossible to recover from, it can be quite tricky. If you notice that your sunflower stem is browning then this is a sign that it is weakening, so it has been overwatered.

You can try and remedy this by letting your sunflower dry out – hopefully, you will have some sunshine that will let you do this properly.

Also, when it comes to watering your sunflower it is all about your judgement – so if you can tell that the soil looks damp or moist then do not add more water.

If your soil is looking quite dry then this is the prime time to get the hose on your sunflower – although, do not use the hose to water the sunflower head unless it is on sprinkler settings. This will be far too powerful for your sunflower plant and could end up damaging the sunflower head and its pollen supply.