ajtgirl: thank you very much for your help - i will see to them tomorrow as we have had rain all day today and gardening was the last thing i wanted to do lol

Rose:

Hi Rose
There are hundreds of varieties of sunflowers.  Some grow short (3-5 feet) and are branching, meaning they have many flowers from one central stem.  Others can be 12 feet tall with one giganting flower at the top and smaller flowers coming out along the stem below.  It just depends on what variety you have.  We have planted some called sunbeam, moonbright, sunbright, Van Gogh Mix,  Italian white, and lemon, just to name a few.  They can have all different colored disks and petals

Fiona:

I just read your question and I'll tell you what we do at my greenhouse.  We grow hundreds of sunflowers for making bouquets amd we cut the heads of any flowers we don't use and put them in our boiler room to dry out.  In the spring we shake out the seeds that have dried and replant them.  It is very easy to propogate new sunflower plants with last year's seeds.  A lot of our plants reseed themselves in the fields, just by the seeds falling to the ground in the fall and wintering over in the soil.  You don't need to freeze the seeds, just keep them dry and cool.  The same process is used for morning glories, which also reseed themselves, of course.

Fiona: Thanks on my way to read....

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/smf/index.php?board=20.0
here are some pics and discussions

Fiona: I'm searching google now but no info yet. Keep you posted

Rose: if you find anything out you will have to let me know

Fiona: I should read up on that in google. Maybe it's a new thing. Hate to think it's an environment change that causes it.

Rose: i was the same as you where i always thought a sunflower only ever had one head so was shocked when ours grew loads and i have seen in a few gardens that there are a few sunflowers like it - they sure do look pretty

Fiona: You know until this year I never saw sunflowers grow more than one head.. I thought it was a rare phenomenon but apparently I just never had the luck of growing sunflowers with more than one head.. This year all mine had a ton of tiny heads shooting out from the 'branches' or the big leaves.
So this is common?

Rose: thank you Rose i will do that tomorrow - its a giant sunflower kayleigh grew and stood at 7ft at its height but it was beautiful as had over 20 heads on it too so would love to grow some from it next year too as seems a shame to waste it - and there will be plenty for the birds too

Fiona: With sunflower seeds you dont need to refridgerate. Just take all the seeds off the head.. keep what you want to use to plant next year and then the rest can go to the birds outside. I hang my heads on my fence upside down and the birds spend weeks eating the seed. I grow giant sunflowers and every year I harvest about 40 seeds from one head and give the rest to the birds.. Once you have dried the heads out take the seeds and just keep them in a paper bag in a cool dry place.. Dont put in plastic bags because if there is a tad bit of moisture they will rot or grow mold. So paper bags are best.
Good luck!

Foxy Lady: thank you i will try that

Fiona: I never heard of freezing them,seems to mean the seeds would get frost bite.I put my flower bulbs in the fridge so there cool.You could try it that way.

Hiya i was just wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what to do with sunflower heads as they start to die off as i heard somewhere that you can dry them out then freeze the seeds for planting next year but i have no idea how to go about it and would be grateful for any advice as the one my daughter grew from school this year was amazing and would love to try to grow more next year.
thanks for any help i can get
Fiona

BerniceC: I'll see if i can CCP it for you.They use the juice in mens cologne I didn't see anything on making jam, but i bet you can make it the same as any other.Your just using a differant fruit.

Foxy Lady: I did that but it is obvious that search engines are different in Aus than they are in the USA....google dint gimme nuffin

thanks anyway Hun :)

BerniceC: Go to your search engine and type in the name of the fruit.Thats what i did and found alot of links.

Foxy Lady: awwwwww :( i cant get into that page :(

thanks anyway

BerniceC: I did some research for you and came up with this link......
http://rui.ocukid.info/ You may get some ideas from it.

BerniceC: Your into Spring ahhhhhh were getting ready for Winter.You can Chat or talk about gardening.Sorry i can't help you on the jam.

Tuesday: yep it sure is beginning spring....I came into possession of 2 pomello?? or pomelo today....they are as big as a dinner plate and I want to know if anyone has a recipe for Jam/marmarlade etc they would share with me....
I have searched and searched as to what to do with them.....sorry this isnt exactly gardening but.... :)

Dolittle: I don't blame you one bit.

Foxy Lady: Haha, I don't fly with or without an airplane!!

Tuesday:HAHAHA....curiosity killed the cat LOL

He is a good friend and is filling in his time doing around my yard and home etc. it fills his time and im now working 3-5 days per week, so I dont really do all that much.

Today we finished painting the bathroom and the kitchen is next... then the main bedroom. I might add that the painting in the bathroom, kitchen and main bedroom havent been done since 1992, so are in desperate need.

Vern and I did the spare room and the lounge in 1994 when he was still in fairly reasonable health.

BerniceC:

Sounds like you have a good thing going with your man
I hope he appreciates you, too
You go, girl

Dolittle: Why do you think you can fly now Do?

BerniceC: I will help too if I can flap my arms fast enough to fly down your way!!!LOL

BerniceC: You go gurl and have fun.

Mousetrap:

BerniceC: Well errr I would but err I have to go somewhere you know how it is, err I best get going sorry about that see ya!

well ----- after counting the Mondo grass and the Moses in the cradle on the edgings----we estimate there to be about 500 new plantings in the back garden...nothing over $20 and nothing under $5...except the ones I have propagated...which would be about 100....so your looking at a fair amount of gardening/money LOL


Today we have started to strip the bathroom...paint was on special yesterday at $19.80 for 4 litres....usually about $56.00...

the next after this is the main bedroom...Vern and I having done the lounge and the spare roome a couple years ago....

it is all go here lOLOL.....any offers of help????

Foxy Lady:Trust me Foxy I don't want to mention it. We shouldn't be getting snow in the middle of spring, and I especially don't want any late frosts as all my vegies are starting to shoot up. Roll on summer.

skipinnz: Snow ohhhhhh lordy don't mention that word.Were in for a bad winter this year.

BerniceC:I'm in Hamilton, and we have a lovely sunny day, but the southerly wind is blowing straight off of the snow. It's freeezzzinnng. LOL

hahahaha.....no it isnt cold here but the water in the spa is LOLOL....it is under shade all day so dont get a chance to heat thru....hence the solar mats, which we will only use occaisionally.

Where are you? in the sth island? I used to live in CH.CH...that was either too hot with the westerly winds or too darn cold due to the snow on the hills :)
I was born in Takapuna on the Nth Shore of auckland.

BerniceC:Cold in Queensland, nah I don't believe it. LOL, we've just has a late cold snap with snow down to 500 meters, now thats cold.

it is a bit cold at the moment for the spa...we have solar heating mats to be installed for the spa when we have time to do it...but in the meantime we are just dangling legs LOL

BerniceC:

I think it's nice that you have a man in your life who you can relax with in the spa!
Way to go girl!

BerniceC: I enjoyed the garden pics and reading about it.

BerniceC: Were raking leaves Very nice garden you seem to take care of it.

BerniceC: Oh wowwwww and i love that spa.I'm jealous here we are getting ready for winter and your still gardening. BTW i love that waterfall to.

a few pics for you to view :)

note the new spa...

http://www.geocities.com/tropicalparadisio/yard.html

will keep more pics posted as the garden grows...Im going to count the plant one of these days....there has to be hundreds of them LOL

BerniceC: Thank you for understanding.See even a flowers name can mess up a board

BerniceC: oops.......

I sent her the website for Amaryllis Belladonna.Thank you for your post but being this is an open board i had to remove it.