2026 Community Grow Out
Sunflowers
This is your page for everything related to the 2026 Community Grow Out:
Get ready to grow BIG in 2026
Mongolian Giant Sunflower
- A true showstopper in the garden.
🔸 Grows up to 14 feet tall
🔸 Massive blooms up to 18 inches across
🔸 Seeds approximately 1 inch long — edible and delicious
🔸 Petals are edible and beautiful in salads
🔸 Loved by pollinators, birds, and humans alike
The Mongolian Giant Sunflower produces classic edible sunflower seeds and towering blooms that bring drama, food, and habitat to your garden all at once.
Teddy Bear Sunflower
Short on space? Grow a Teddy Bear instead.
If you’re gardening in a small plot, raised bed, or patio containers, the charming Teddy Bear Sunflower is your perfect alternative.
🔸 Compact plants up to 3 feet tall
🔸 Fluffy, double, golden blooms
🔸 Petals are edible and lovely in salads
🔸 Ideal for pots and small-space gardens
Join In
Whether you’re growing sky-high giants or sunny patio companions, you’re part of our 2026 sunflower community. 🌻
Pick up your free pack of seeds at:
• Penticton Seedy Saturday — February 21
• Kelowna Seedy Sunday — March 8
Can’t attend either event? Send us an email at okanaganseedsavers@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to mail seeds to you.
Seeds are available in exchange for your commitment to grow them out and share your feedback in a simple grow-out report.
You are automatically entered to win a fabulous prize when you fill out your report!
Let’s grow giants together!
How to Grow
Sunflowers are easy and rewarding. Give them full sun, fertile soil, and steady moisture — and they’ll do the rest.
Below are detailed growing instructions for our 2026 Community Grow-Out varieties: Mongolian Giant Sunflower and Teddy Bear Sunflower.
Exposure: Full sun (minimum 6–8 hours daily)
Sowing: Direct sow as early as possible after the last frost, once soil has warmed.
Optimal soil temperature for germination: 21–30°C (70–85°F)
Sow seeds 5mm–1cm (¼–½") deep
Space Mongolian Giants 1m (3') apart — giants need room
Space Teddy Bears 15–30cm (6–12") apart - ideal for containers (use deep pots with good drainage)
Water well after planting and keep soil evenly moist during germination
Seeds sprout in 10–14 days
Starting indoors is possible but offers little advantage. If plants become root-bound, they may lack stability at transplant time and require staking.
You can sow in succession after last frost to stagger bloom times.
How to Save Sunflower Seeds
Saving sunflower seeds from your 2026 Community Grow-Out is simple — and it means you can grow these sunflowers again next year!
Let the heads mature: Allow the large flower heads to remain on the plant until they start to droop and the back turns yellow-brown. This signals that the seeds inside are fully developed.
Protect from birds and critters: As seeds fill out and before they’re ready, you can loosely cover the heads with paper bags, cheesecloth, or mesh to protect them from birds.
Harvest the heads: When mature, cut the heads from the plant with about 15–30 cm (6–12 in) of stem still attached. *Harvest from multiple plants to maintain genetic diversity
Dry the heads: Hang them upside down in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place (garage, shed, or covered porch) for 1–3 weeks until the head feels crisp and dry.
Collect the seeds: Once dry, rub the sunflower head over a bowl or bucket with your fingers or a stiff brush to loosen the seeds. Note: Because Teddy Bear produces double flowers, seed production may be limited compared to single-flowered varieties.
Clean and store: Spread seeds in a single layer on a paper towel or tray in a cool, dry area to remove any last moisture. Place completely dry seeds in paper envelopes or airtight containers, label them with variety and year, and store in a cool, dry place (fridge or pantry).
How to Report:
Whether you’re growing sky-high giants for edible seeds or cheerful patio blooms for colour and pollinators, your 2026 sunflowers will bring beauty, habitat, and nourishment to your garden.
Report your growing experience and your yields and you’ll be entered for fabulous prizes.
Please use this link to fill in our online form
Other ways you can share with us:
You can post on Instagram using #OkanaganSeedSavers and/or #OssSunflower2026 (be sure to tag us @okanagan_seed_savers) or share on Facebook (Okanagan Seed Savers)
You can also email your photos and comments to okanaganseedsavers@gmail.com
There’s no limit to how many times you can share. The more the merrier!
Data to collect for reporting:
Site description (soil type, sun exposure, watering regime, plant layout/spacing, etc.)
Which sunflower you are growing (Mongolian Giant or Teddy Bear)
How tall your plants grew
Number of plants (heads) harvested
Total weight (lbs/g) or volume (cups/L) of seed harvested
Any other observations or interesting info you collected through the season.
Happy Saving!
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