Sunflower Fertilizer

Small types get by, but giant varieties are heavy feeders and grow much bigger heads with steady nutrition. Feeding also thickens the stalk so tall plants stand up in wind.

At 1 tsp per quart, the 8 oz bottle makes about 48 watering cans of feed. For a typical shelf of 10–15 plants fed every 1–2 weeks in season, that's several months of feeding — and the 32 oz bottle four times that.

Every 1–2 weeks in spring and summer while it is actively growing, then every 4 weeks in fall and winter. Mix it into your regular watering at the labeled dilution so feeding never becomes a separate chore.

Start once seedlings have a few sets of leaves and keep feeding every one to two weeks until the flower head forms. After that the plant is finishing, so you can stop.

Yes. Use the same dilution for both — a watering can for containers and small beds, a hose-end sprayer set to the labeled rate for larger in-ground plants.

Not when used as directed. The dilution is designed for regular feeding, and a liquid spreads evenly through the soil instead of sitting in a hot spot the way granules can. If you ever overdo it, flush with plain water.

Greener leaves and stronger new growth usually show within two to four weeks of consistent feeding; flowering and fruiting benefits build over the season.