I grew dark red petaled sunflowers this year and they were gorgeous. I was deadheading them, partly to make sure they didn’t fall over and so that the secondary buds could flower. So I took off the flowers that had lost their petals, but they were so handsome I put them in a vase. It’s kinda weird, petal-less flowers, but I thought I’d share because they have a nice look to them. Maybe this is already a “thing,” but I just discovered it!
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Lizzy, the sunflowers are still lovely without the petals. Nice form. Are you going to dry them and save the seeds?
Hi @barefootgardener, Thanks! And the great thing is they don’t drop petals all over the table! (Sorry I’ve been slow to respond because I was off the grid in the mountains for a while.) I have saved the seeds, but is there anything special I need to know about drying them, or do they just dry naturally? I left the seeds on the flower until they seemed pretty dry and then just put them in a mesh bag for next spring. But I also wondered if, by cutting the flowers and bringing them in, it would interrupt their maturing process and maybe the seeds wouldn’t be viable. I’m not much of a gardener outside of fruit trees so any info is helpful!