I can't imagine where the flower heads went. There's no trail left
on the ground, the petals had fallen off so they weren't that pretty.

There were no seeds on it... in fact it was hit taken over by aphids
and the leaf stems kinda turned brown and started dying. What
would steal the flower heads with no seeds?

Is there some kind of animal that would do such a thing?

--
Jim Carlock
Please post replies to newsgroup.

"Jim Carlock" wrote in
:

I can't imagine where the flower heads went. There's no
trail left on the ground, the petals had fallen off so they
weren't that pretty.

There were no seeds on it... in fact it was hit taken over
by aphids and the leaf stems kinda turned brown and started
dying. What would steal the flower heads with no seeds?

Is there some kind of animal that would do such a thing?

yup. squirrels.
lee

Thanks, Lee. What about possum? Thought we saw a possum
out side last night hobbling down the road.

What does a squirrel do with a 1 month old sunflower head with
no seeds?

How long does it take for a sunflower to get seeds after the petals
fall off?

I'm thinking that one had a problem with aphids that did it in.

--
Jim Carlock
Please post replies to newsgroup.

"enigma" wrote:
"Jim Carlock" wrote:

I can't imagine where the flower heads went. There's no
trail left on the ground, the petals had fallen off so they
weren't that pretty.

There were no seeds on it... in fact it was hit taken over
by aphids and the leaf stems kinda turned brown and started
dying. What would steal the flower heads with no seeds?

Is there some kind of animal that would do such a thing?

yup. squirrels.
lee

"Jim Carlock" wrote in
:

Thanks, Lee. What about possum? Thought we saw a possum
out side last night hobbling down the road.

maybe. i've never had possums bother my sunflowers, but if it
disappeared overnight rather than in the day...

What does a squirrel do with a 1 month old sunflower head
with no seeds?

they eat the base of the flower. yup, even without seeds.

How long does it take for a sunflower to get seeds after
the petals fall off?

well, the immature seeds are there before petal drop (before
the flower actually but they don't become actual seeds until
they're pollenated). i haven't paid much attention to length
from bloom to ripe seeds really because i grow them for the
birds & squirrels, but i think it's 5 or 6 weeks. could be
less, but the wildlife don't wait for them to ripen usually.

I'm thinking that one had a problem with aphids that did it
in.

mine get aphids & mildew they still make seeds though.
lee

Thanks much. I've got a few more sunflowers growing. One in
particular, the leaves are about 8" round, the stalk is about 5/8"
thick and it's a good 3 feet tall. The leaves span maybe a 2 foot
diameter if you look at it from the top. I was pretty proud of the
other sunflower that the squirrels(?) nabbed. I think it grew too
fast, though because it started leaning over the fence and the
stem wasn't strong enough to hold itself up. The stem is still out
there but the leave stems have pretty much turned brown, but
there are still some really small buds on it that are blooming. All
in all it's looks pretty wimpy, tiny buds, sick looking leaves, stem
turning brown from the top down.

Do you mulch around the base of your sunflowers?

--
Jim Carlock
Please post replies to newsgroup.

"enigma" wrote:
"Jim Carlock" wrote:

Thanks, Lee. What about possum? Thought we saw a possum
out side last night hobbling down the road.

maybe. i've never had possums bother my sunflowers, but if it
disappeared overnight rather than in the day...

What does a squirrel do with a 1 month old sunflower head
with no seeds?

they eat the base of the flower. yup, even without seeds.

How long does it take for a sunflower to get seeds after
the petals fall off?

well, the immature seeds are there before petal drop (before
the flower actually but they don't become actual seeds until
they're pollenated). i haven't paid much attention to length
from bloom to ripe seeds really because i grow them for the
birds & squirrels, but i think it's 5 or 6 weeks. could be
less, but the wildlife don't wait for them to ripen usually.

I'm thinking that one had a problem with aphids that did it
in.

mine get aphids & mildew they still make seeds though.
lee

Jim Carlock said:

Thanks much. I've got a few more sunflowers growing. One in
particular, the leaves are about 8" round, the stalk is about 5/8"
thick and it's a good 3 feet tall. The leaves span maybe a 2 foot
diameter if you look at it from the top. I was pretty proud of the
other sunflower that the squirrels(?) nabbed. I think it grew too
fast, though because it started leaning over the fence and the
stem wasn't strong enough to hold itself up.

Hmm...the mention of leaning on a fence suggests...

Well,I seem to recall my neighbor said she watched a groundhog
clip off and devour theflowers on her sunflowers while sitting on
top of the fence they were planted along. Despite their looks they
are good climbers, and I've seen one sunning itself in a maple tree,
and seen signs of them feeding up in mulberry trees. (Mulberry
leaves are one of their favorite foods, at least in my neighborhood.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)