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I like a garden with a little more variety than just sunflowers, which is why I’m always on the lookout for great sunflower companion plants.
Is there any flower more cheerful than a sunflower? There’s a reason these golden giants have captured imaginations for generations. Vincent van Gogh devoted an entire series of paintings to them. They proudly appear on the Kansas state flag. There’s even a National Sunflower Association—which makes perfect sense when you consider both their beauty and their importance as a crop.
And let’s be honest: when you pass a field of sunflowers in full bloom, it’s nearly impossible not to pull over for a photo. There’s something about standing among those towering blooms with your arms stretched wide that makes it feel like nature is giving you the warmest welcome imaginable. I’ve always loved sunflowers. They’re bright, bold, and impossible to ignore—the kind of flowers that make a garden feel a little more magical.
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What every gardener needs to know about sunflowers
When you’re thinking about sunflower companion plants, it’s important to think about the sunflower first. Sunflowers are native to the dry prairie regions of the central United States, where they are sometimes considered weeds. That pretty much means that as long as there is plenty of sun, your sunflower will grow just fine.
If you start them from seeds, space them about two feet apart and plant them about an inch or two deep. (You can plant them six inches apart if you like, but you’ll have to thin them later on if you do this.) The sunflower is naturally drought tolerant, but it’s ideal to water them regularly.
Choosing the best sunflower companion plants
Because sunflowers are tall, they offer a lot of shade to plants that don’t appreciate a full day of direct sunlight. Sunflowers are also a favorite of pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Other tall, sun loving plants such as corn and tomatoes are good sunflower companion plants. Cucumbers, melons, and squash grow well alongside sunflowers, too.
Shade loving vegetables, such as lettuce make good companions for sunflowers, as well.
Even though these are good sunflower companion plants, other plants don’t get along with sunflowers at all.
Pole beans and potatoes are two well-known plants that sunflowers have it out for. They compete for the same nutrients in the soil, so sunflowers release chemicals that inhibit the growth of these vegetables.
To wrap this up, let’s talk about harvesting sunflower plants. To enjoy the seeds as a snack, let the flower dry on or off the stem. Cut the head from the plant and rub the head of the sunflower with your hand or just pull the seeds off. Rinse and dry them, or roast and salt them and enjoy.
What other vegetables have you grown with sunflowers? Share your ideas in the comments.
Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!
Last year I had a huge volunteer sunflower in the bed where I planted pole beans. Both the beans and the sunflower did well. Actually the beans that climbed the sunflower (to the top, about 10 feet!) produced the most.
This year I planted multiplier green onions and red onions with my Sun flowers. Everything grew abundantly!
I have a smaller variety of sunflowers that are more or name two that I was t to transplant into my vegetable garden. I’m in N. Texas so the climate is agreeable and I will use this advice for vardening. Thanks
Great information I love planting and caring for plants esp sunflower ????