transplanting sunflowers?

[katie9143]

i planted sunflower seeds every foot or so along one of our fences...i put 2 seeds per hole and of course, most have 2 sprouts, and unfortunately a couple have none coulda been birds or something looking for grubs...whatever!

they are an inch or 2 tall now....do you guys think that if i dig some of them out that have 2 plants that i could transplant to the empty holes rather than starting from scratch? there are a couple that are nice and hearty and i would hate to just pull them out and throw away...ya know?

tia

[zoe196]

well I'm growing one in a pot and I transplanted it to a bigger pot with no problem so I don't see why it couldn't work for yours.

Zoe, mama to Thomas 1/06

[devster4fun]

It depends...

I've done it with great success if you get the seedling early enough. The trick is dig down deep enough to not damage the tap root. Then, I try and plant it so the tap root is straight and can recover.

Also, I pile a little bit of straw/small mulch/pine needles to support the stem if it starts to droop.

We've had so much rain, I started a tray of sunflowers indoors in these little peat pellets. (Found on clearance for $1.00 for 50 planters)

So far, so good.

[SandyMom]

I just did what you (OP) described and it went just fine. I was amazed at how fast they bounced back! They looked a bit pekked overnight but by mid day following day thet were fine. Be sure to dig deep for roots and to plant deep as well.
Good luck!

[katie9143]

Originally Posted by devster4fun

It depends...

I've done it with great success if you get the seedling early enough. The trick is dig down deep enough to not damage the tap root. Then, I try and plant it so the tap root is straight and can recover.

Also, I pile a little bit of straw/small mulch/pine needles to support the stem if it starts to droop.

We've had so much rain, I started a tray of sunflowers indoors in these little peat pellets. (Found on clearance for $1.00 for 50 planters)

So far, so good.

these are still so small that you wouldnt even know they were sunflowers like 2" seedlings

[canadiyank]

It's worth a shot, as long as you don't damage the ones you want to keep. You can always plant more if they don't "take."

[catballou24]

if you can do it without messing with the roots too much it might work.. i transplanted my seedlings at about that stage into bigger pots, then into the ground and they are doing great..