Transplanting Sunflowers?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

July 17, 20180 found this helpful

Dig around the plant and straight down, as not to disturb the larger roots. Instructions are here www.professorshouse.com/.../

Hello
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 107 Posts

July 17, 20180 found this helpful

if you're careful I say go for it, just make sure that it is a really big pot so it has room to grow and thrive and make sure it gets as much sun as it generally gets where it lives now

Pghgirl40
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July 18, 20180 found this helpful

While I personally would not, my reason is that they are too big and heavy to deal with and I physically I am not able to dig that deep--they have huge root spans) and even if I could, I don't think I could lift a 7 foot plant (too heavy).

If you are physically able, you just need to make sure you can dig deep enough to get all the roots or you risk damaging the system and the plant dying. The roots can be three feet deep and three feet wide...more if the plant is really huge--7 feet is huge, but they can get WAY taller!

Then you would need a pot big enough to house it all in. That in it self can be a challenge and then it is triple..plant, dirt, pot.

This is one of my favorite sites about sunflowers: www.almanac.com/.../sunflowers

Don't forget to harvest seeds, some to eat, some to plant...provided that the birds don't beat you to it :)

julbearjlc

July 18, 20180 found this helpful

Thanks for the advice.It's been picked to be in the county fair so just for the week it will be out of the ground.So what would you do if it was yours

 

Pghgirl40
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks

July 18, 20180 found this helpful

Wow! That is a huge honor. It is a shame the can't judge it where it blooms. It seems a bit illogical to make you move it. But I guess I over think things :(

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That said, if you feel you can get to the root ball and have a big enough pot, go for it! Let me know how it goes! Hope you win!!

 

cybergrannie
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July 20, 20180 found this helpful

I have transplanted 2-3 foot sunflowers successfully but a 7 foot - wow.

• Here is how the web site says to do it so maybe you could make it survive for a few days but I would bet it might not be able to survive the trauma from the first transplant much less the second (returning it to the original spot).
• When Transplanting Older Plants
• When digging your sunflower up, make sure to give it wide berth. If you dig too close to the stalk, the roots can be damaged and your beloved flower might not recover. The farther out you dig, the more roots will remain on the stalk. Dig straight down to go deep and avoid cutting the largest roots. Shake off excess dirt if it is too heavy to carry to the new location.
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• Pick your location and dig a hole about six to eight inches deep, and at least that in width, depending on the exact age of your plant. It is has a lot of roots, dig even deeper so they have adequate room to grow. Loosen the dirt around the area so the roots have air and can latch hold easily.
• Place the plant in the center and cover with dirt, packing it down to hold the plant firmly in place. Give it lots of water so the roots can recover from the trauma of being removed. A grown plant should not require stakes if it is planted deep enough.
• As you can see this is dealing with transplanting to another location and not to a pot but your plant might look good long enough for the show.