I went looking for sunflower seeds, and most of the seed racks do not have them now. I have one sunflower that made it, it was sort of hid behind the dahlias, and was a short one to begin with, I think it got to 12". It was so hid, I never got to see the flower, but I did get the seed head before the birds. But it is small to begin with. Sunflowers are so awesome, so I don't begrudge the birds of their food. I get the beauty, they get food. I did see a squirrel hanging on one big one, stuffing it's mouth out. I will not join this swap, but I enjoy looking at all the pictures. Thanks though, and have a great swap!
Darlene

OOOOh Darlene,

Guess what you will have coming in our next month seed swap? LOL
Sharon

Hi Beth,

I am unable to send my Ring of Fire seeds. Would it be alright if I sent "Strawberry Blonde" instead?. One more question, when should we mail our seeds to you? Thanks! - Lisa

Lisa, Strawberry Blonde sounds fine to me. Any of the ornamental types is A-OK. the idea was to get a vairety, as many different ones as possible.
I'll give this about another week to see if there are any more sign ups. Then we will know the total number of players and how many seeds to send. It is looking like it will be less than ten but that was a maximum number.
Is somebody sending seeds of one of the really dwarf types? I saw sunflowers in planter boxes yesterday that looked like someone had cut off their stems. About 6" blossoms on about 8 or 10 inch stems. It worked well but I had to go look to be sure they were really growing that way not cut flowers stuck into the planters just for a few days. No Name on them but I'd love something like that for my mailbox garden.
BB

The Dwarf Yellow Spray that I'm sending are from Valueseeds last year. When I sowed them, they were mostly under 24" which is T&M's height note, but nowhere near the 8-10" that you mention.

seeds arrived today from Sharon, Too many Animals. Sharon has donated seeds but does not want to be in the swap.
That is just super nice. The sort of thing that Garden Webbers do. What a great place this is and what a terrific bunch of people. Many many thanks Sharon. You made my day.
BB

Here is a photo of the periennel sunflowers or wild artichokes....

{{gwi:1875}}

These are hardy here in zone 5.

I also have mamoth sunflower seeds and two other types sorry this photo is blurry.

As you can tell I grow them big around here!

Hi Beth.
I'm in your 12 month seed swap and I'm really enjoying it! I have a variety of sunflower seeds but not in the volume you're looking for I'm afraid. I have:

Sundance Kid 2 ft. (12 seeds)
Sunspot 2 ft. (24 seeds)
Vanilla Ice 4-7 ft. (12 seeds)
Dorado 5 ft. (8 seeds)
Music Box 3-4 ft. (12 seeds)
Prado 5 feet (5 seeds)
Hallo 4-5 feet (8 seeds)
Mix Velvet Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Moulin Rouge (20 seeds)

Any chance you'd let me join in but just send me fewer seeds than the others? I understand if this won't work but I just wanted to check it out anyway. I grew up in Kansas and am a New England transplant. Would love to grow some of those really big varieties here in my yard.
Ann

Ann, it would be fine with me. If anyone has objections they can email me direct and I will just say that the group decision is no.
If it is OK with everyone, I'll figure a way to divide the seeds up and if anyone particularly wants a given variety just let me know.
I hope it is agreeable because you have some nice varieties to offer.
Beth B

Hi Beth - I don't know about anyone else, but it's OK with me if you include Ann! I would be happy with just 1 seed of a different variety. - Lisa

I have no objections to including Ann!
Brenda

Just wanted to let everyone know that a kind trader from FL sent me a few "Moon Walker" seeds so that will be another variety for the group. Again maybe only one or two seeds but if they grow and bloom..... who knows how many there will be.
BB

Thanks for considering me. I appreciate it and truly understand if it doesn't work out.
Ann

Time to close this up now and get the seeds collected.
The swappers will be:
Brenda, msprettyKY
Lisam627
mmqchdygg
myohmy
ann travers and
Beth B
So, each trader only needs to send 6 packs of each variety. (ten seeds per pack)
We will end up with at least 20 different types of sunflowers as Sharon made her donation, I have some extras and A travers is sending more than three types.
I am also going to send some seeds to Mickeyray and Darlene87 and something for Sharon, toomanyanimals.
I thank all of you for your intrest in the swap and I hope to see lots of sunflower pictures popping up on the forum next year.
If you need my address, please let me know.

beth-
this is an awesome idea for a swap!! i don't have any to share this year, but plan on growing some next year... so hopefully you'll do it again!!
-Elizabeth

Hi Beth.
Thanks for letting me join. I found 3 more varieties in my seedbox I can send along as well. Can you e-mail me your address? I'll package them up and send them out shortly.
Thanks again.
Ann

Hi Zabec, I like the sunflower swap idea too. It belonged to msprettyky, Brenda but she did not feel ready to sponsor a swap yet.
Next year will be her turn so be watching again next fall.
BB

BB & all-

Hey, I think I gotta hose you all on this swap. I am having 'seed issues' over here:

1. The 5' dinnerplates- 90% of them had tiny worms in the seeds, and they have little holes in all the seeds. My husband said the day I brought them in the house, the counter was COVERED in worms (GROSS! Glad I wasn't there to find that!), but at the time, I didn't think anything of it, cuz well, you GET that when you collect seeds. My GUESS is that all the seeds have been eaten by the worms, and you won't have any viable seeds inside the shells. I'm totally bummin about that since that was the best one I wanted to share. Hundreds of huge seeds...likely all eaten.
I packaged them up, but on afterthought, not sure if there are ANY worth sowing in there.

2. The Lemon Queens didn't produce enough seed to share. I know that sounds ludicrous, and I'm as shocked as you are. I cut all the seed-heads off, and there were barely any seeds in there. Not sure what happened there.

3. I DO have the Dwarf Sprays...plenty of those to share, but nothing else that's 'named.'

I was so discouraged last night that I think I even tossed the 'regular sunnies' that I had (no name), so I don't think I have even no-names to share. Maybe...it was late, and I was heaving things left and right I was so bummin.

Please advise. I don't wanna screw the group by only sending 1/3 of the required amount.

Beth,
I dropped off my packet to you in today's mail. I was able to hit an excellent seed sale on Monday and made quite a haul of their sunflower seeds. I've included these in addition to the list I already posted. I've also included pictures and height for each variety. You might get them on Saturday if the mail moves along as quickly as it has been lately.
Ann

M&M, I guess I wind up speaking for the group again here but my feeling is to have you go ahead and mail in what you have.
It has been a tough year for sunflowers in home gardens. I had to put mesh bonnets on some of mine so I would be able to keep the grass hoppers away. They were eating them as fast as they started to develop never mind waiting for them to grow.
As one of my bosses used to say, "A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing". So, we'll take what you are able to send.
Ann has sent extras and I have gotten some extras from other trades and from T&M seeds so we should be OK. Just not quite the mix we were expecting. Gardeners learn to expect the unexpected and do the best they can with what they have.
I'll do the most fair distribution I can with the seeds available. Hope this is agreeable with everyone.
Beth B

Hey Beth I need your address. I will send you the fennel you wanted also. Sorry I havent checked the thread for about a week. Will get them out on Monday.

Hi Beth...just wanted to let you know I have my seeds all packed and ready to be mailed on Monday. Also, I included 4 additional packs of sunflowers to help M&M Tina out. I've included some Crimson Thriller, Sunflower Maximilian Vivace, Vanilla Ice and Double Dandy. - Lisa

Brenda, I'll get my address to you as soon as I finish this post.
LisaM, thanks so much for the extra seeds. I just love the way people on this forum come through and lend a hand. It really helps me to keep my faith in people. We all hear so much BAD stuff on the news it gets discouraging. Having someone send extra, above and beyond what was agreed upon without being asked, is so nice and encouraging... I just don't know how to say thanks enough. Not just for the seeds but for the attitude that they show.
What a great bunch of gardeners.
I'm proud to be part of this fine group.
BB

You guys are too sweet! I've been searching the web for some sort of deal on a bulk purchase of something to replace the ones I said I'd send. I'll still send the packets, but Beth, do take a look at them to see what you think. (Although I suppose the easiest thing to do would be to just take a hammer to a few of them and check things out on my own.)

At any rate, I'll get those in the mail ASAP- likely tomorrow.

Thanks, everyone!!!

Ann, your seed packet arrived in todays mail. It is nice and fat but I have not opened it yet. I know when I do I'll have to have time to drool over the kinds and dream of next summer. Thanks so much for your help.
BethB

Hi Beth.
The reason the package is so big is because I included a SASE. So don't get too excited. But here's the list of what's inside:
Sundance Kid
Sunspot
Vanilla Ice
Dorado
Music Box
Prado
Hallo
Mix of Velvet Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Moulin Rouge
Double Dandy
Del Sol
Fun Ân Sun Mix
Chianti
Moulin Rouge
Autumn Beauty
Mammoth
Dwarf Incredible
Thanks for doing all the work on this. Sunflower people are great!
Ann

All-
Ok, I've solved my issues. If no one has a problem (and I don't think any of us is in any rush to plant these, so I'm "ASSUMING" here...), my envie will be a little late arriving, so you can throw wet noodles at me for holding up the swap.

Here's what I did: I placed an order with Johnny's seeds just now to have some items to share.

So here's the list. I hope you like what I chose:

Starburst Lemon Aura:
{{gwi:1300027}}

Zebulon
{{gwi:1300029}}

The Joker

{{gwi:1300031}}

Firecracker

{{gwi:1300033}}

Bashful

{{gwi:1300035}}

Strawberry Blonde

{{gwi:1300036}}

And I'll still send in the other ones (Dwarf Yellow Spray, and the 5' (eaten) dinnerplates), but no guarantees on the dinnerplates.

Thanks for letting me play!

Oh My Goodness !!! What an awesome bunch this is and what a collection of sunflowers we will have next summer.
I started working my way through Ann's lot saying mmm, Mmm,nice , Oh gee, nice, and Huummm,

Then I got into M&M's photo list and I was saying OhOh OH wow. and holy mackerel!!! I'll be dizzy with sunflowers next summer and I'll be sitting up nights to keep the bunnies away.
Brenda this was a fantastic idea.
Mary, Ann sent Mamoth so they may be the dinner plate. Regardless I'm sure we shall all have a fantastic collection of sunflowers for next summer. I'm so excited. I plan to start a new lasagna bed next month so I have a good place ready for these beauties in the spring.
Hugs to all of you.
PS

Oh, by the way, I guess I need some edumacation on sunflowers. I thought that when a sunflower head started to droop it WAS because of the weight of growing seed, but evidently that's not the case (as proven by my lack of Lemon-Queen seeds.) If it's not seed, what makes it droopy?

Anyone wanna field this one?

I grabbed the weekend mail on my way to work this morning, and the rest of my sunnies; the order came, and I'll pack it up at lunchtime and mail out by the end of the day.
Thanks for waiting on me!

My package is in the mail, Beth. DC# is 0304 1560 0002 1532 7241
All- my apologies for duplicating a couple of the items already 'spoken for' in my packet. I should have read more carefully when I placed my order, which included "The Joker" and "Strawberry Blonde." Well, more sunflowers is not a bad thing, right?!

Mary, I confess that I also thought it was the weight of the seeds that pulled the seed head downward. Maybe it is just old age. They get too tired to hold their heads up anymore. Being at that age it seems reasonable to me. LOL
There is probably some technical/scientific reason but I don't have a clue. If there were seeds in the head it could also be a way to protect them from getting wet and rotting before they could be dispersed.
A few more seeds of Jolly Joker and strawberry blonde can't be anything but a Good Thing.
We should have some very interesting gardens next summer. We'll need to post pictures. I also ordered some seeds of Pastiche so, even without 10 in the group we have a great assortment of seeds. Thanks bunches to everyone

I just wanted to let you know that I think this was a wonderful idea for a swap. I hope you have it next year too. Maybe by then I will have enough sunflower seeds to join. Have fun guys.

Hugs,
Lisa & Kayla

Seeds arrived today from Brenda, msprettyKY
myohmy are you still in on this swap? We have not heard anything from you in a while. No real hurry obviously as we won't be planting for months. Just wondering if we are ready to return when M&M's wayward package arrives.
Good thing you got DC on that package. It seldom makes any difference but when it does... that's a good thing.
BB

Seeds arrived today from Mary. So glad to get them after their trip and I'm betting M&M is relieved to know they arrived safely.
Still waiting to hear from myohmy.
Beth B

Hey Beth--just wondering if you received your envelope??
ttys
Jeanette

Holy cow that took a long time! And First Class, no less! I could have driven it there and back in shorter time! I got a package the same day as you got mine from a gal in Washington State that also mailed on the 24th...wonder what the holdup is on the east coast LOL!!!

I have not heard from Myohhmy yet and I had emailed her direct so, I'm going to declare this swap closed and get the seeds back out to everyone on Monday.
We have a great variety of seeds and some really super pretty ones. Hope everyone is as pleased with what they get as I have been when I opened the envelopes. Many thanks to everyone who sent seeds.
BB

The seeds were mailed back out this afternoon. Thanks to some very generous traders we had a fantastic variety of seeds. In some cases you may get back duplicates of something you sent....especially in cases where more than one person sent the same type.A few of these I combined the seeds and recounted them just in case there were differences in the color. Some the seeds had visible differences even with the same names. Interesting???
I hope you are all pleased with your seeds when you see them.
Beth B

Beth--did you recieve the envie I sent 'just because'?? I know you are having a B*U*S*Y time right now --so just checking!!
Jeanette

OH Jeanette... Yes yes I did. Many many thanks you are a doll.
let me send you a separate note.
hugs
bb

Beth,
What a great swap this was! I'm so excited about the variety of seeds you sent my way. You're terrific. Thanks again for hosting this. You did a fabulous job. I'll think of everyone when my beds (and me!) are smiling with sunflowers next summer.
Ann

hello beth
what a surprise to get seeds from a swap I was not in!
thanks so much, I'm working on re-claiming a spot in the garden that was takin' over by blackberries. I think this would be a great spot for my sunflowers.
thank you very very much
michelle

Ann, all I did was sort and remail. It was you,and your fellow traders who sent so many terrific varieties of seeds. I just put in the three I promised and one that I bought. It was delightful to see so many types and think about next summer.
Michelle, I had planned on ten people in the swap and some sent things packaged that way(10 small packs) so I sent you a few. You seemed interested and it is fun to share.
I've been trying to hand clear about an acre of blackberries and honeysuckel and pictureing the muscles I'd have by the end of the job. Well, a man came along with a backhoe and blade and I let him do the job. So much for the muscles but I'm very glad it's done. Good luck in your project.

Hi Beth! I received a fat package with so many varieties of sunflowers - I'm just ecstactic! My yard will be a bountiful display of sunflowers next summer and I'm looking forward to growing all of these varieties. Thanks everyone for their generous contributions and thanks Beth for all of your hard work and coordination of this swap!!! You did a great job Beth!- Lisa

I got my package today and I can't tell you how happy I am!
I can't wait till next year! I got so many compliments on my sunflowers this year. Wait till they see what I come out with next year! Thanks Beth, for hosting this swap! YOU ROCK! You are at the top on the xmas list this year! LOL! :)

I hope by now everyone has recieved their seeds. Please let us know.
Thanks, BB

Hi Beth- Mine came in yesterday's mail- what a GREAT selection! Thanks everyone!

Anyone know what this worm is???

Imagine my surprise at seeing this thread pop up!!!!
The little critter looks like a tiny baby inch worm
The sunflowers are beautiful. Are you saving seeds?
Bethb