Sunflower Disease - Knowledgebase Question

Philadelphia, PA
Avatar for lmf1122
Question by lmf1122
August 16, 1999
After the heads of my sunflowers blossomed, the petals dried
up and fell off, a black fuzz formed all over the seeds.
Is this normal, are the seeds still good?


Image
Answer from NGA
August 16, 1999
It doesn't sound as though your plant is healthy and the seeds are probably spoiled. When sunflowers begin to mature the heads nod downward and the back of the head changes from green to yellow. As the seeds ripen the petals change from yellow to tan in color. If the petals dropped off your sunflowers, I'd suspect a fungal disease has attacked them. Be sure to grow sunflowers in full, all day sunshine and water only once a week, deeply soaking the rootmass. Better luck with your sunflowers next year!

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