Do you know the cultivar that you planted? Do you have a picture of the blooms? How tall is it and how big are the blooms? It looks like the Kong cultivar which is an F1 hybrid and will not come true from seed. I actually didn't get any to germinate but I may have not given the seeds enough time to ripen before frost. SCG

Ronnie, That would be great. Send your address.....we have traded in the past but I don't remember your address. Kathy

hello;as george stated, there are too many variables- a primary stress will induce other stresses which are cummulative ....first I would look at your seed source... There is a simple Venn diagram(Set Theory)involving three Subsets:(A,B,C) that I find useful...I'm inept with the computer... A) Physical Environment B)Chemical Environment C)Biological Environment translated to: d)Life Processes and Systems... (and modified here to include "Sunflowers" at various stages of development.... re:sunflowers- there are some good reports found at kansas state university (pdf format:40pages) search:ksu Crop Production Handbook + Sunflowers

I grow sunflowers which have smaller seeds. I toss the deadheaded flowers onto the ground for critters to eat the seeds. I toss them into an open space so that predators cannot sneak up on the birds. My bird feeders are bowls placed on open ground. Haven't had any trouble with cats disturbing the birds, even though a few strays have hung out here over the years. I put out food for stray cats, too. I often see birds eating the cat food. There aren't any squirrels where I live now. When I lived in California, I grew the type of sunflowers which you have in your photos. The squirrels often stole the seed heads, or broke big chunks out of them, and broke the flower stalks, too, because of their weight. I didn't mind because I had already enjoyed the flowers. The birds love those big sunflower seeds, too. Yes, you can eat the seeds, if you want. I prefer to buy sunflower seeds already hulled, because they are so messy to get out of their shells. The seeds can be eaten raw, or roasted and salted. When you trim your rose bushes, cut the canes into 5-6 inch lengths and put them in your flower pots. It will keep the squirrels out of your potted plants. They don't like thorns. I put cut up rose canes around the plants in my oak casks this year because a rabbit kept getting into the planters and eating the plants. It worked, he quit hopping up into those planters. Thorny blackberry canes work, too. Lorna