Sunflower Joy

Sunflowers can make a really great growing choice to get children interested in plants, gardening and the outdoors. There are some easy sunflower growing kits for kids that make it easy to start a love of gardening.

Sunflowers make a brilliant first choice of flower or plant for kids to plant because they are easy to grow and they can start germinating and growing within as little as a week.

Not only are they easy and fast growers but they are also much more exciting for children to watch day by day since they can also get really tall.

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Sunflower Growing Kits for Kids: Starter Sets to Buy and Inspire Young Gardeners With

Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

My daughter’s very first plant was one of these sunflowers and, despite having bad weather and heavy winds, we managed to get ours grown up to about 6 feet tall.

Most people though understandably opt for the tall varieties of this flower and the kits that you can buy tend to focus on these ones.

UK Readers get a Sunflower Growing Kit from Amazon.co.uk

You can buy both small and tall varieties of sunflower seed. Teddy Bear is a very small and unique variety at approx 6 inches tall and it produces a wonderful bright and fluffy looking flower which can work in most back yards and gardens.

🌻 You can of course just opt to buy some sunflower seeds. You would normally plant these directly into some prepared soil in the ground which has been forked and then raked over with some new compost.

Alternatively, you can plant the seeds into some smaller plant containers to start with and then pot them on gradually into larger containers as the sunflowers grow in size. Growing directly into the ground avoids having to keep moving the plant into a larger container as it grows.

It is nice though to buy a set or a kit and especially as a fun outdoor gift for a child. This is an ideal gift for Spring when it is prime seed sowing time.

My mom bought my daughter a sunflower growing kit in a can which you can start off indoors before transferring it outside once the seedlings are large enough.

Sunflower Growing Kit Instructions: How to Start Off Sunflower Seeds

This was a dwarf variety of a Sunflower that we grew. Smaller, dwarf plants look wonderful inside the home and grow well in pots and containers.

Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

Instructions can be especially helpful if you are buying a kit as a gift for a child and Mom or Dad need to know what to do.

It is also handy to have some basic instructions to guide you with what to do as well. Some sets also come complete with cute and decorative pots that can be used while the plant is growing.

🌻 Ready to buy Sunflower Grow Kits should come provided with instructions which really are reassuring to people who are not used to growing plants or flowers. I've included detailed growing instructions just below for you in video and written form.

An indoor sunflower growing kit is fun but these flowers love being outdoors so I recommend starting them off inside and then moving them outside once they are a little bigger.

Basic Sunflower Seeds Growing Video: Detailed Written Instructions Below

Here's My Instructions for Growing Sunflowers from Seed:

1. You can plant seeds straight into the ground though children may find pots much easier to start with plus you get the advantage of having the plant indoors to start off with.
2. Get a small container about 3 inches / 8 cm across in width. Fill it with some seed growing compost or soil.
3. Firm the compost down into the container and add more in if necessary to fill it to the top.
4. Water the container so that the compost is damp all the way through.
5. Use fingers or a dibber to make a hole in the middle of the compost about 1/2 inch or a few cms deep.
6. Press the sunflower seed on its edge (will help to stop it from rotting) into the hole.
7. Cover the seed over with compost.
8. Place the container on a sunny windowsill.
9. Wait for the seed to sprout up and germinate. This might take up to a week. Keep the soil moist at all times and do not let this dry out.
10. Allow this seedling to grow until you have more than 2 leaves on it. At this point it will probably be large enough and strong enough to move into a bigger plant pot.
11. Fill a bigger container, say 5 or 6 inches across, with a multi purpose compost. Use a dibber to make a large hole in the middle.
12. Add water into the hole. Remove your sunflower (compost and all) from the container it started in and press it into the middle of the new container. Firm the compost down around it and water in.
13. When this has got too big for the pot (normally roots will be showing through at the bottom) then you can move it into a larger container or plant it out.
14. Sunflowers need a sunny spot in the garden. Keep them watered in hot and dry weather so they can grow well.

One of the sunflowers that my daughter grew from seed.

Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

Children can learn to care for these bright yellow sunflower blooms by giving them a good sprinkling of water on dry and warm days.

Be aware that soil and compost in pots and containers can dry out more quickly so will need more regular watering. You can check by feeling the soil by inserting your finger into it an inch or two down to see whether it is dry or damp.

These flowers like a lot of sun as well so place in a sunny spot and once it starts shooting up, you will need to use a bamboo cane to support it as it gets taller. Enjoy doing a fun outdoor activity this summer with a sunflower starter kit.

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Page Last Updated: April 03rd, 2019