Trying to grow sunflowers in Florida's poor, sandy soils can be difficult enough in a normal weather year. 2021 weather is not cooperating. Early season sunflowers were plagued by very hot and very dry temperatures causing most plants to be stunted (short) and anemic. The plants pictured here were heavily mulched and irrigated.
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A second crop of sunflowers that I planted in early June is now being flooded by heavy, tropical rains. The only plants doing really well in this difficult weather year are invasive, grassy weeds. But, with a bit of determination one can still grow sunflowers in Florida through October.
I am constantly planting seed hoping for better conditions. I also try to rotate where I'm planting sunflowers and keep the seed far apart from one another. Your Florida sunflowers need room to grow in difficult soils.
If another hot, dry weather pattern emerges in late July and early August (as can often happen), you'll need to mulch in any juvenile plants (to keep the roots moist) using pine straw, oak leaves, or whatever plant debris is available, and irrigate the plants lightly every day. Sunflowers can take a good deal of abuse but the Florida sun is brutal from late June until late August so you need to keep that in mind as weather patterns are unpredictable.
Gardeners in Florida Can Grow Sunflower Until Dewpoints Fall Below Nighttime Temperatures,
Sometime in Late October
If the dew points are still in the mid 60°s to mid 70°s, then overnight low temperatures will most likely also be in the mid 60°s to mid 70°s. For example today, July 6, 2021, the dewpoint is 77° with a temperature of 81° making for a super humid day (as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches).
The average time of the first cool front is mid-October. This is when temperatures generally fall into the mid 50°s (13° C) across inland portions of Central Florida and below 60° (16° C) elsewhere across Central And South Florida.
The exception to the average mid-October cool down is along the coasts were the warm Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico keep temperatures higher.
Based on the 1981-2010 normals and record low temperatures during Fall at sites across the region. . .in general temperatures will not consistently fall into the 50°s until November in the north (and 60°s south).
REDNECK HANGS ON
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Redneck is a long-lived Red-eared Slider Turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) who has made his home in one of our ponds for the past decade. Presumably he emerged from the lake behind our properties. I have rescued many Yellow-bellied Slider Turtles (Trachemys scripta scripta) over the years and put them in the ponds but Redneck is the only Red-eared Slider I've encountered. . . and he showed up on his own.
I talk to Redneck every afternoon and take some photos. He is spending more time dozing with only his head sticking out of water.
Below: Redneck dives to see food floating on the surface.
Redneck is only eats about a cup of food per day now. The internet says not to feed red-eared sliders cat food. . . but Redneck has thrived on cat food for many years.
Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) wading in Lake Theresa.
I see very few snakes lately, likely because of a red-shouldered hawk family nesting nearby, but I did happen upon these two amorous Florida Water Snakes (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) this morning while doing some gardening. These snakes look like poisonous water moccasins but are mostly harmless. They might give you a fright if you step on one but other than that, they are non-poisonous and mostly afraid of humans.
See all the snakes of Florida at Florida's Non-poisonous Snakes and Venomous Snakes of Florida.
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