Growing Sunflower Seeds for Birds: A Complete Guide

What’s more cheerful than a sunflower’s bright yellow petals and dense chocolate center? These iconic summer blooms bring joy to any garden. Even better, as sunflowers finish flowering, their nutrient-packed seeds provide essential winter food for wild birds.

Growing sunflowers specifically for birds is easy and rewarding. Follow this guide for tips on choosing planting, growing and offering sunflower seeds to your feathered visitors.

Why Grow Sunflowers for Birds?

Sunflower seeds are packed with proteins, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals This makes them an ideal winter food source for birds when insects and other food gets scarce

In winter black oil sunflower seeds can comprise up to 75% of birds’ diets. Chickadees nuthatches, finches, and cardinals are just a few species that feast on sunflower seeds.

By growing and offering your own sunflower seeds, you provide free, fresh food for local birds while saving money over buying seed. Dried sunflower heads also add beautiful winter interest to gardens.

Choosing Sunflower Varieties for Birds

When selecting sunflower types for birds, prioritize varieties with high seed yield, large seeds, and disease resistance. Recommended bird-friendly options include:

• Black Oilseed: Single heads; high oil content
• Kong: Disease-resistant; high yield
• Titan: Huge 12-16 inch heads; high seed count
• Snack Size: Multiple small heads on each plant
• Super Snack Mix: Assorted colors; multiple heads
• Mammoth: Giant seed heads up to 1 foot wide

Stick with standard sunflowers rather than pollen-less hybrids. Birds can’t access seeds on double-flowered cultivars.

When and How to Plant Sunflowers

Location: Choose a sunny, well-draining spot. Sunflowers need at least 6 hours of direct sun daily.

Soil prep: Work aged compost into soil to enrich it before planting. Sunflowers thrive in fertile, loose soil.

Planting depth: Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep.

Spacing: For upright single-stemmed sunflowers, space plants 12-24 inches apart. Allow 18-36 inches between branching multistem types.

Time to plant: Sow seeds directly in the garden after the last frost. Or start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your frost-free date for a head start on growth.

Caring for Sunflowers Through the Seasons

Sunflowers are quite unfussy once established but need some care to ensure health:

• Water sunflower seedlings regularly until established. Mature plants are drought-tolerant.

• Apply mulch around the base of plants to conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds.

• Stake tall varieties to prevent toppling from winds and heavy seed heads.

• Scout for pests like birds, squirrels, and sunflower moths. Take protective measures as needed.

• Remove faded flowers to encourage maximum seed production.

• Allow seed heads to fully ripen and dry out on the stem before harvesting.

Harvesting and Offering Seeds to Birds

• Wait until the back of seed heads turn brown and seeds appear plump and dry. Then cut heads off with about 1 foot of stem attached.

• Hang upside down in a warm, dry spot to finish drying, about 1-2 weeks. Provide good air circulation.

• To remove seeds, rub two dried heads together over a bucket or tarp. Wear gloves to prevent poking fingers.

• For offering whole heads, hang from a tree, post, or specially designed feeder. Use strong string, wire, or twine.

• Try various styles of feeders specifically designed for sunflower seeds. Platform, tube, and hopper feeders work well.

• Store excess dry seeds in an airtight container out of sunlight. Refrigeration can prevent rancidity.

With a bit of planning, sunflowers are easy to incorporate into any garden to benefit birds. The cheery summer flowers and abundant winter seeds they provide are sure to attract avian visitors all year long. Get started growing sunflowers this season!