How to grow a Sunflower | Kiddi Caru

Sunflowers are an easy flower for children to grow and make a perfect hands-on experience for little ones to see the full life cycle of a plant. All you need are seeds, a few pots and water.

Did you know the current World Record for the tallest Sunflower is 917cm! At Kiddi Caru our current record is 334cm. Do you think you could beat either of those records?

What is a Sunflower?

The tall, yellow faced flower was originally from North America. However, the Sunflower is now grown all over the world. Native American’s grew the Sunflower as a crop and discovered that it had a multitude of purposes. Including edible seeds, milling for flour, extracting oil to be used in cooking and the flower was (and still is to this day) given as a beautiful gift. They have also inspired many pieces of artwork.

How to grow a Sunflower?

For best results, the best time of year to plant (sow) your Sunflower seeds is April. Sow the seeds in individual pots with multi-purpose compost and water. As their name suggests, this flower loves the sunshine! So, make sure to put your pot in a sunny spot and water regularly.

At the end of May, when you should see your seeds grow a stalk and leaves, its time to move your Sunflower outside. Prep the soil by removing weeds and plant it at the same depth as the plant pot it was in. Water thoroughly and add a bamboo stake for support as your flower grows.

Make sure to water regularly and check to make sure the flower is not being eaten by slugs. Once fully bloomed (11-18 weeks from sowing the seeds) you can cultivate the seeds, dry and store for next year. Sunflowers usually only bloom once. So, if you would like a continuation throughout the summer plant seeds every few weeks or keep them to grow again next year.

Kiddi Caru’s Sunflower competition

We host a Sunflower competition every year to encourage families to get outside and grow a Sunflower together. Children benefit from caring for the plant, practising early mathematics as they note its growth and witnessing how (with a little water and love) a tiny seed can grow into a big beautiful flower.

If you missed our Sunflower pack give away, don’t worry. You can still enter our competition by purchasing some Sunflower seeds and downloading our Sunflower chart, here.

Keep us updated with photos and how your flower is growing by tagging us in via our social pages and using #kiddicaru: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Take a photo of you with your amazing sunflower and send it, with your flower’s tallest height, to [email protected] or by tagging us on social media by Monday 9^th August.

The tallest Sunflower winner will be announced on Tuesday 10^th August and will receive a bug themed book and games bundle with Books & Pieces!

Our previous Kiddi Caru record holders were:

2017 Record 289cm: Alex at Kiddi Caru Caldecotte

2018 Record 297cm: Ava at Kiddi Caru Redhill

2019 Record 334cm: Rhys at Kiddi Caru Harlow

Of course, if you want to set your sights for the ultimate Sunflower goal, the world record for the tallest Sunflower is 917cm!