Caring for your new SUNflower and MOONflower
Moonflower (Ipomea alba)
Sunflowers (Helianthus ‘Ring of Fire’ and ‘Velvet Queen’)
Simple seed germinating success: keep the soil moist (not wet), place the pot in a warm location, and once germinated move the plant to a location with lots of light.
Day One*:
Once you get your new seeds home, give them a deep drink in the sink to fully saturate the soil. Identify a tray to put under the pots, this will catch excess water and prevent the pots or soil from staining furniture, a plastic lid to a takeout container works well.
Day Two:
Now that the seeds have settled into their new home, heat and moisture will help them germinate. Find a warm spot to place the pots. If you don’t have a horticultural heat mat, place the seeds somewhere warm like on top of a refrigerator or in a sunny window. Continue to water the pots if the soil starts to feel dry.
Day Five to Ten:
Depending on the conditions, your seeds will germinate between five to ten days after planting. Both sunflowers and moonflowers are dicots; two (di-) cotyledons (-cots) which are also called seed leaves will emerge first. Seed leaves provide energy for the plant as its root system is developing; soon true leaves will emerge.
If your plants were kept in a warm but not sunny location, such as the top of a fridge, move the plants to a location with bright light.
Day 15 to 30:
True leaves should emerge on your plant. Once the plant’s true leaves get large enough, move the plants to a larger pot. If all your seeds germinated, each plant should get its own larger pot. When “potting on”, move up one pot size. Pop the plants out of their existing pot and gently separate the seedlings, trying not to disturb the roots too much. The larger pots can be filled with any peat-based potting mixture. If you have fertilizer, mix a diluted batch and water the plants into their new pots.
Notes on “hardening-off” your plants:
Eventually you will want to move your plants outside. If you live in NYC, mid–May is a good time for moonflower and sunflower plants to transition outdoors. If you live in a colder area, wait until the first week of June. Pick your move-out date and count back one week. In the week leading up to your selected date the plants will need to be hardened off. This process slowly introduces the plant to harsher outdoor conditions.
To harden off your plants, select a location that does not receive full sun all day. A location that has morning sun is perfect as morning sun is gentler than afternoon sun. Leave plants outside for three to five hours on the first day, then bring them back inside. Second day, five to seven hours. Day three, repeat. Day four move them to a very sunny location or the location they will remain, leave them there for three hours, then move them back to the original area. Day five you can leave them in their final sunny location for the remaining days—even through nighttime. However, if temperatures dip below 50 degrees bring plants indoors or they risk getting damaged.
Once you hit your selected planting date (one week from hardening start) plant them into the ground and water in with fertilizer. Congratulations!
*If you don’t want to worry about growing your plants indoors you can plant the entire peat pot outside in large containers or directly in the ground. However, it will take longer for the seeds to germinate.