The Great Sunflower Project

Sunflowers like full sun. When you plant them, plant each seed about 1 inch deep and at lest six inches apart. These seeds have an 80% chance of germinating so, you might plant two seeds for every one plant that you want. You can always thin them after they come up. Be sure to water them after planting. It usually takes a week or so for the seedlings to appear. This seems to depend alot on how warm it is. You can start your sunflower indoors. We like to use pots made out of peat because you can transfer them straight into the soil when it's warmed up.

, Photo from About My Area

If you are going to grow your sunflower in a pot, it's best to have a pot at least 15" deep. The deeper and larger the better because these plants like to send their roots out, out, out....

You'll want to keep the soil moist and fertilize them every other week. I usually water them heavily once a week when they are getting started (about a month) and then water a little bit every day.

Here's the blurb from American meadows:

This is the true grandfather species of them all—the basic annual sunflower that figured so prominently in Native American ritual, fabric making, and foods. Flowers are only about 3-4 inches across, rather like a large, single black-eyed susan on rangy, 3-foot, sandpapery plants. Do not confuse this one with its hundreds of descendants including the garden giants with huge, seedfilled centers—they’re all hybrids of this species. State flower of Kansas.

Botanical Name : Helianthus annuus
Common Name : Wild Annual Sunflower
Type : Annual. Lives just one year. Grows quickly, blooms heavily, dies with first frost. Can regrow following spring if seed falls on bare ground.

Color : Yellow with brown centers

Height : Up to 3 ft.
Bloom Time : Mid and late season
Flower : Daisy-like
Sun/Shade : Needs full sun.
Soil Preferences : Adaptable
Moisture Requirments : Average moisture, well-drained.
Where To Grow It : Native to plains regions, but can be grown in all regions.
Zones : 3-10
Indigenous To : Central plains of North America