If it were me, I would gently separate the four plants and replant with proper spacing. Give them a high phosphorus fertilizer to help establish the root system and keep it watered. Leaving them together would lead to competition for nutrients. They might be set back, but with some care, they should be alright.

Hi, I can share my experience. The survival of sunflowers will decrese with increase in age though. This is just something i tried on transplanting some 25 of my sunflowers, about 45 days old, more than 2-3 feet in height. 18 of them survived. I had them in pots , as well as scattered in ground. For, The ones in pots, i broke the pot (earthern) and shifter the huge root balls (12 inch pot). For the ones in the ground, i started digging soil around plant. I dug around at a radius of one and a half stretched hand. and i went deep about 1 feet. you can do this only if the plants have huge gaps in between. There was one plat which was as high as my waist, lets say about 3 feet tall. As i started to dig, i could see fine roots near the surface. so i expanded the diameter to two and a half stretched hands. that should be about, may be 18 inches radius. The 3 feet one survived. Also, i would recommend spraying the plant with NPK 20 20 20, 2 days before you want to dig them out. After transplantation, water them a lot. And do not expose to sun for atleast a week. Use green nets or any sheet for proper shade. After 1 week, spray NPK again. (1 tea spoon in 1L water). They will wilt. Most leaves will die out. The flowering will be delayed by 20-30 days. The height will stunt by a feet may be. I hope this helps those who are still in a pickel to transplant. I had to do it, because they grew at random places after my dog was surgically operating and tearing apart a drying sunflower while playing. I hope you have a legit reason to risk a life.

I am relatively new to hibiscus cultivation. The Mr. Half came home one afternoon 4 years ago and said he'd seen a flower bed of mint and dinner plate hibiscus. He loved the smell and appearance, and after speaking with the owner, the seeming ease of maintaining such a bed. So I started some basic research, ordered some seeds,and now here we are. Year one all six verities I sproutted did well in the sunroom, but in the ground seemed to die before the end of summer. (I doubt I need to tell the tale of all the mint I have to share!) In fall and winter of year one I did a lot of work on the soil of that bed, moved some things around, and the in early spring began seeds again. (2020) This time I ended up with an extra plant surviving of the same color, so put that one in a pot, all the others in the ground. All did amazingly well, as bushes, lol. The bed all of this is happening in gets a ton of sun most of day, the with shade coming on later... It was covid, I was home, so I had also planted tomatoes, artichokes and peppers between the hybs... In an effort to prevent sunburn I placed a popup tent over the sunniest part of the garden. I have since learned the provided shade and perhaps too much water meant tons of green vertical Growth, but only one plant bloomed. It should have been yellow, blue, and red. It is white with a pink center. And, I had one of the plants from year one come back. (I have no idea what color it should be, but in it's now third year, is the only one to yet bloom, or even bud.) Mr. First bloom is blooming again this year, true to the white with pink center flower. The potted one, remember that extra? She bloomed the year, supposed to be a black but is instead a pale pink, maybe the 'peppermint' which was pictured as white with red streaks. Lovely almost lavender or some blooms showing the 'pepper ment' tendency. Plant 3 bloomed dark red, almost a light purple, and was also supposed to be black, but wait! Plant four, another that should have been a tri color bloomed a paler red, and on the same plant I am getting the white with pink center bloom!? What. The. Heck?!!!!! Plant five just bloomed today, same thing!!!!!! 1) is this normal? I've read about the ph, nutrition, and flavonoids, but nothing addressing two so drastically different blooms on the same plant. No grafting, these are all from seed. 2) we are in Sacramento, selling the house in August, and I'd love to take my hybs with me. Can I dig them up now after cutting them back, and put them in cold, dry storage until next spring without killing them? Lol help from a neophyte!!!!

dklucius, you are absolutely correct that the price of black oilseed is on the rise, but i doubt that the local riding horse market is generating a major impact because they have been using sunflower seeds of all variety, and especially the black oilseed as a supliment in both Equine and Bovine feeds for a number of years. I think you will find a much greater impact is coming from the oil industry. Although black oil seed has not been extensively farmed in the past, there are now finding that black oilseed it much cheaper than corn to produce and it has a higher yield for making biofuel. As the biofuel industry expands we can expect to see a big demand on sunflower seeds of all varieties. It is a great deal for the farmers because their initial planting and tilling costs are less and they can plant & harvest the oilseed with the same equipment they currently use for corn. If the biofuel industry kicks off as expected we will see the price of sunflower seeds fluctuate very quickly, It could go through the roof or on the other hand, once more farmers get into the production the price could drop tremmendiously. However it turns out, I will be okay because I have unlimited access to 10 acres where I can grow my own oilseed, or convert some of it to open meadow bird preserve. Last year we had to cut down two 65ft high Maple trees in the yard. We sold off the firewood, but I took all the brush and limbs and built a living fence along the creek which provides excellent habitat for birds, rabbits, and a couple ground hogs, now to mention that the open meadow area provides a hunting ground for the hawks and Bald Eagles. As soon as the weather breaks I will be building some hunting blinds in that area where i can sit all day and shoot pictures.