Have you ever heard of Chocolate Cherry Sunflower?
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No, we’re not making this up. This is really a thing!
These beautiful flowers are nothing like your usual sunflowers, which are bright and sunny. The Chocolate Cherry Sunflower looks dark – and delicious. (But you can’t eat it, of course.)
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Look at this unique, delectable beauty!
Chocolate Cherry Sunflowers (Helianthus annus), aka Chocolat, is a sunflower branching variety with rich burgundy or maroon petals and a dark brown center.
Their beautiful petals attract both humans and insects alike.
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These flowers attract pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Of course, we like to ogle at its beauty; sometimes, you can’t help but touch it or even grow them your own.
Here’s how you can grow Chocolate Cherry Sunflowers!
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Their seeds aren’t difficult to find. You can go to your nearby local gardening store or check them out online. A single packet of 40 seeds is enough to grow your first few sunflowers.
You can plant Chocolats indoors or outdoors.
The best time to plant these indoor is around March – 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. Use topsoil in peat pots and sow half an inch up to an inch deep. You can start transplanting them in mid-April or early May when the weather starts to get warm.
However, it is much preferred to plant them outdoor.
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Planting outdoors would mean you would have to wait a little longer until the weather is warm to sow the seeds compared to planting them indoors. But this would also spare you from the hassle of transplanting. When growing outdoors, you can scatter the seeds on the ground and cover them with an inch of soil to make it more natural rather than digging a hole to sow them.
These sunflowers start to germinate in about ten days after sowing.
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One stem can grow multiple flowers, so it’s advised to sow them at least 6 – 8 inches apart. This will prevent the roots from getting tangled underneath and allow branches to grow evenly.
Chocolate Cherry Sunflowers are easy to care for.
They thrive in full sun and need to be watered regularly. Make sure that the soil is moist but not wet not to waterlog its taproots and risk them from rotting. The best thing is they grow in all hardiness zones!
But just a few notes, though.
It’s best to plant them on well-drained soil, even if they can grow even in the poorest soil conditions. If you find that the ground in your area is hard and compacted, you can change this to softer garden soil and mix it with compost.
And in just 2-3 months, viola!
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You have beautiful burgundy sunflowers all over your garden. It’s a plus if you’ll have hummingbirds or butterflies flying around them to add natural beauty to your garden.
You can also harvest these sunflowers and use their seeds.
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Harvest season is in July. If you sowed it indoors, you could start harvesting them at the beginning of the month, while outdoor-sowed ones in mid-July. Cut the seed head and let them dry. If they’re dry enough, let the seeds run gently in your hand. They’ll easily fall off if thoroughly dried.
You can save these seeds for next season or feed them to birds.
Watch the video below to appreciate these decadent beauties!
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