Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sole Survivor: Our Sunflower.

If any of the many insects take a liking to our sole surviving sunflower, we may not be able to see the first bloom. They do like the leaves, munching at will. I wonder which insect did that. But the bud is developing fast just to warm our hearts.


1

2

3

4

5

The plant is small and short, barely a foot. Must be dwarf specie. The plant doesn't look too happy with two leaves bitten into half , but I sense the fighting spirit in this little plant to go the distance, and present Kakdah with the best sunflower bloom ever!!.. Watch Out.....

(from google pics)
I googled for sunflower buds and found this,
and it looks awfully similar to ours....


How long will the bud take to open up?






16 comments:

  1. Oh the anticipation!! The rabbits ate all my sunflower seedlings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm sure it will be lovely when it opens. And the great thing about sunflowers is that after you have enjoyed the bloom yourself, the seeds which are left attract the birds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Our sunflowers can take awhile to finally open, but all of a sudden it's there, bright yellow and beautiful. The sunflowers that are planted by the birds are often shorter for some reason, maybe the type in the feeder is different? Can't wait to see it in bloom.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The sunflower is doing Ok. When the buds opens, please ask Kakday to come out and view it because it is too precious to cut it off! I started germinating some sunflower seeds I bought at the hypermarket. There were 8 seeds but there are still no signs of life yet after 2 weeks. Oh dear.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great Photos. Sorry about your difficulty with sunflowers there. From your pictures it looks like your problem with munching is less insect related, and more large animal related (looks like the ends of several leaves have been eaten). If no one chomps the bud, it looks to me like you should see it open in about 1-2 weeks.

    Sunflowers (Helianthus) are indigenous to North America, though the native species look a lot different than the ones we plant from seed packages.

    There has been research which suggests that mature plants actually inhibit germination of seeds near them to avoid self competition.

    ReplyDelete
  6. HI Bangchik, I have posted my Meme...come and visit.
    http://thequeenofseaford.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-can-i-tell-you.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kind of mismatch to see this bud and the sunflower.
    It must be an ugly duckling.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I only ended up with one single sunflower also. It was a beauty! We go for quality not quantity.

    ReplyDelete
  9. yap it will be lovely to see the bloom. we had lots of teddy bear dwarf varieties blooming of sunflower.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It might be small but still has plenty of charm as will the flower when it opens.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Dear Gardeners....

    Sorry JANET to hear about rabbits eaten all your sunflower seedlings. This is our second attempt at sunflower. First, none germinated, second, only one appeared to see the light of days.

    But JO, the plant is so tiny, not even a foot tall, if birds take a liking to sunflower seeds later, I just wonder where are they going to sit and enjoy. Their weight may just bring the plant down.

    Oh CATHERINE, cant wait for the bud to finally open, our first ever. Just hope nothing get to it first.

    Huh BELLE, no germination after 2 weeks, I dont know, but it would be best to consider getting more seeds for another attempt. Have you tried germinating on the flower bed itself?

    Thanks TAYLOR for the explanation. So it is going to be real suspense the next week or so.

    Hi QUEEN, thanks to your willingness to get along with the meme award, I know how tough it is to be a Queen. But you have been so poised all this while..haha.

    You are right about the mismatch RAINNIE... Yea, like a caterpillar after some metamorphosis finally emerge as beautiful and colorful butterfly. But there is no duckling around here....

    TERESA, your statement about going for quality rather than quantity definitely make us very happy about having sole survivor in sunflower germination!!

    Thanks KHABBAB, I do hope the bloom will be lovely after all the anxiety. Could ours be of teddy bear dwarf variety?

    I do hope so WISEACRE. The stunning yellow flower will definitely be something to rejoice after earlier failures.

    Thanks everyone
    Have a nice day,
    ~bangchik and kakdah.
    Putrajaya
    MALAYSIA.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well I hope it survives ok then you will have lots of seeds for the birds and to sew again another year.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bangchik and Kakdah, it amazes to see a flower grow toward the sun.

    Jean Paul Richer wrote: “Every friend is to the other a sun, and a sunflower also. He attracts and follows.”

    ReplyDelete
  14. > Joanne
    > Di

    Thanks, I do hope nothing will hurt the plant before the bud opens. That's a lovely piece from Jean Paul Richer.

    Cheers
    ~bangchik

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, you have us all excited to see how this little flower fares in the days to come. Keep us posted! Beautiful photos, Bangchik.

    ReplyDelete
  16. MEREDITH... haha, I have been watching everyday. Nothing much, but the bud is opening up, little by little. Huh, the fun behind having sunflower as sole survivor!
    ~bangchik
    Putrajaya, MALAYSIA.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...