Sunflowers seeds (flowers, grow, frost, plant)

[HawaiiLover]

Over the weekend I bought a package of Burpee Sunflower seeds and fiber pots. I want to start them in the house and then plant them outside.

I saw on the internet, place a wet paper towel on a plate and place the seeds on it and cover them with a damp paper towel, spraying the paper towel as necessary to kept the seeds damp. After a week or two, the strongest seeds start to sprout. Then I would plant them in my pots. What I was wondering is, can I put a few seeds in each 3" pot? And, how tall should they grow when I can transplant them outside?

I usually buy mature flowers and plant them after the first frost, so doing this is totally new to me. Any help would be appreciated.

[annken]

Originally Posted by HawaiiLover

Over the weekend I bought a package of Burpee Sunflower seeds and fiber pots. I want to start them in the house and then plant them outside.

I saw on the internet, place a wet paper towel on a plate and place the seeds on it and cover them with a damp paper towel, spraying the paper towel as necessary to kept the seeds damp. After a week or two, the strongest seeds start to sprout. Then I would plant them in my pots. What I was wondering is, can I put a few seeds in each 3" pot? And, how tall should they grow when I can transplant them outside?

I usually buy mature flowers and plant them after the first frost, so doing this is totally new to me. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

I'm a newbie to gardening but I use the "wet paper towel & plastic baggie" method to germinate all my seeds. I like knowing which ones are good before putting them in the pot or the ground. Wet a paper towel, squeeze out most of the water, spread out & put down the amount of seeds wanted. Roll or fold the seeds in the towel & zip seal in plastic baggie but leave the zipper 1/2 inch open. I put mine on top of the refrigerator & most seeds sprout w/i 5 days. Then put each sprout in their own fiber or newspaper pot (easy to make) so you don't disturb the roots by separating them later--just put the whole pot in the ground or in the bigger pot.

I don't know how tall your seedlings would be but on the back of the seed pack, it should tell you how many weeks to start your seeds indoors before the last frost. I would guess you can put 3 sprouts/transplants in a pot each if they are the dwarf variety.

I bought the "cheapo" sunflower seeds at 20 cents per pack--I got 24 seeds in it. They are in a papertowel now.

Happy gardening...