13/10/2026
🌻 Could We Have Sunflowers for Christmas? 🌻
I’m running a little experiment at Valley View this spring.
Our average last frost here is around 1 November, so traditionally I’d wait until then before sowing sunflowers outdoors.
But young sunflower seedlings are actually more cold tolerant than many people realise. Newly emerged plants can often handle a light frost — it’s as they put on more growth that they become increasingly vulnerable.
So… I’ve decided to push the season a little. 🌱
Last week I sowed my first succession of sunflowers, which gives them roughly 11 weeks to grow before Christmas.
If the weather behaves, there’s a very real chance we could have Valley View sunflowers in our Christmas bunches this year. 🎄🌻
The varieties I grow come from Copsley Ornamentals on the Mornington Peninsula. I particularly love their unbranching FleuroSun varieties, bred specifically for cut-flower production and available in some beautiful shades well beyond the traditional bright yellow.
Of course, this is Oberon… so there is always a catch. 😂
The biggest risk isn’t necessarily a little October frost while the seedlings are tiny. It’s one of those proper late –4°C or –5°C frosts arriving after they’ve grown taller and become more tender.
To hedge my bets, I’ll sow another succession this week and another the week after. That spreads the frost risk — and, if all goes well, should also give us a longer flowering window.
Part of growing flowers in a cold climate is learning just how far you can stretch the seasons without pushing your luck too far.
So these little sunflower guinea pigs are officially in the ground.
Now we watch the weather… and hope for Christmas sunflowers. 🌻🎄
I’ll keep you posted!
