Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant sunflowers

Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle May 10 – Jun 21; Spokane May 15 – Jun 26; Boise May 1 – Jun 12; Bend Jun 16 – Jul 28.

Sunflowers are fast annuals native to North America, grown for big, bright flower heads, for seeds that people and birds eat, and as cut flowers. Varieties range from knee-high, branching types for bouquets to single-stemmed giants over 10 feet tall. Pollen-free varieties are bred for cutting, so they don't drop yellow dust on the table.

Add to my garden plan

Puts sunflowers on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty: Easy
Sun: Full sun
Spacing: 6 inches (small types) to 24 inches (giants) apart
Planting depth: 1 inch deep
Frost: Killed by frost
Flowers: Blooms about 60 to 90 days after sowing

Sow them where they'll grow; they dislike transplanting. Tall varieties need a spot out of the wind.

Sunflower planting dates

Towns	Plant in the garden
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA	May 10 – Jun 21
Spokane, WA, Astoria, OR	May 15 – Jun 26
Boise and Meridian, ID	May 1 – Jun 12
Bend and Redmond, OR	Jun 16 – Jul 28

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Gresham, OR, Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR	May 10 – Jun 21

Corvallis and Albany, OR, Cottage Grove, OR, Eugene, OR, McMinnville and Newberg, OR, Salem, OR	May 10 – Jun 21

Ashland and Talent, OR	May 13 – Jun 24
Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR	May 10 – Jun 21

Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR	May 15 – Jun 26

Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR	Jun 16 – Jul 28
Burns, OR	Jun 18 – Jul 30
Lakeview, OR	Jun 11 – Jul 23
Madras, OR	May 26 – Jul 7
Prineville, OR	Jun 8 – Jul 20

Baker City, OR	Jun 1 – Jul 13
Enterprise and Joseph, OR	May 31 – Jul 12
Hermiston, OR, Pendleton, OR	May 3 – Jun 14
Hood River, OR	Apr 27 – Jun 8
John Day, OR	Jun 4 – Jul 16
La Grande, OR	May 15 – Jun 26
Ontario, OR	Apr 28 – Jun 9
The Dalles, OR	Apr 25 – Jun 6

Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Olympia, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA, Shelton, WA	May 10 – Jun 21

Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA	May 10 – Jun 21

Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA	May 15 – Jun 26
Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA, Sequim, WA	May 10 – Jun 21

Centralia and Chehalis, WA, Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA	May 10 – Jun 21

Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA	Apr 25 – Jun 6
Leavenworth, WA	May 17 – Jun 28
Omak and Okanogan, WA	May 15 – Jun 26
Winthrop and Twisp, WA	May 22 – Jul 3

Ellensburg, WA, Yakima, WA	May 15 – Jun 26
Ephrata and Quincy, WA	Apr 29 – Jun 10
Goldendale, WA	May 26 – Jul 7
Moses Lake, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA	May 4 – Jun 15
Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA	May 8 – Jun 19
Walla Walla, WA	Apr 25 – Jun 6

Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA	May 15 – Jun 26

Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID	May 15 – Jun 26

Lewiston, ID	Apr 25 – Jun 6
Moscow, ID	May 15 – Jun 26

Boise and Meridian, ID	May 1 – Jun 12
Emmett, ID	May 7 – Jun 18
McCall, ID	Jun 29 – Aug 10
Nampa and Caldwell, ID	May 6 – Jun 17

Burley and Rupert, ID, Pocatello, ID	May 15 – Jun 26
Idaho Falls, ID, Twin Falls, ID	May 16 – Jun 27
Rexburg, ID	May 19 – Jun 30
Salmon, ID	May 25 – Jul 6

Sunflower year at a glance

Task	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Plant					May	Jun
Cut flowers							Jul	Aug	Sep

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.

How to grow sunflowers

Prepare the bed: loosen the soil and mix in an inch or two of compost.
Plant seeds on your city's dates, 1 inch deep, 6 inches (small types) to 24 inches (giants) apart.
Keep the soil evenly moist until sprouts appear, which can take one to three weeks in cool soil.
Harvest: Cut flowers when the petals are just opening. For seeds, let heads dry on the plant until the back turns brown, and cover them from birds.

Growing sunflowers in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Slugs often eat sunflower seedlings, so start them in pots or protect young plants. Birds go for seeds in fall.

Coast

Oregon and Washington coast

Wind and cool summers can stunt tall sunflowers; choose shorter, branching varieties.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

Sunflowers thrive in the hot, sunny east-side summers and handle dry soil once established.

High desert and mountain towns

Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon

Sow after the last frost. Shorter, quicker varieties finish before fall frost.

More sunflower varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

Mammoth Grey Stripe

Giant, seed type · 85 days

The classic giant, reaching 9 to 12 feet with dinner-plate heads full of large striped seeds. Plant in a spot sheltered from wind and stake if needed.

Both sides

ProCut

Pollenless cut flower · 50 to 60 days

Single-stemmed, pollenless flowers that do not drop pollen on tables. Very fast, so you can sow several rounds for bouquets all summer.

Both sides

Teddy Bear

Dwarf, double · 65 days

Fluffy, fully double golden blooms on plants 2 to 3 feet tall. Great for containers and small gardens, and kids love it.

Both sides

Lemon Queen

Branching, pollinator

Tall, branching plants with many pale lemon-yellow flowers that are a magnet for bees. A favorite of pollinator gardens. Plants keep blooming for weeks in late summer.

Both sides

Autumn Beauty

Branching, mixed colors

A mix of yellow, bronze, red and bicolor flowers on branching plants. Lots of blooms for cutting from late summer into fall.

Both sides

Velvet Queen

Branching, red

Deep crimson-red petals with dark centers on branching plants. A striking cut flower that keeps producing when cut regularly. Plants reach about 5 to 7 feet tall.

Both sides

How much to grow

How many to plant

For cutting, sow a short row every two weeks, since single-stem types give one flower each.

In the vase

Cut sunflowers last about a week in the vase.

Key numbers

70–85°F bestSoil to sprout
6.0–7.5Soil pH
60–90Days to bloom
Slugs and birdsBiggest risk

Top care tip: Stake tall varieties early and water deeply once flower heads start to form.

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

Timing and sowing

Sunflowers sprout fastest in warm soil, so sow after the soil has warmed in late spring. In cold, wet soil, seeds sit for days and seedlings get eaten before they grow. Sow directly where they'll grow, since their long taproot makes transplanting hard.

For a steady supply of cut flowers, sow a short row every two weeks into early July. Single-stem cutting varieties like ProCut bloom once, then they're done, so succession sowing keeps flowers coming. Branching types bloom over a longer stretch.

Wind, soil and support

Sunflowers aren't fussy about soil as long as it drains, but giants like Mammoth Grey Stripe need extra compost and steady water to reach full height. They also catch a lot of wind. Plant tall varieties in a sheltered spot, mound soil around the base of the stems as they grow, and stake them before late-summer storms.

Dwarf types like Teddy Bear are a good choice for windy sites and containers.

Harvesting seeds

For seeds, the head is ready when the back turns from green to yellow-brown and the petals have dropped. Birds and squirrels know before you do, so cover heads with paper bags or mesh once seeds start to fill. Cut the head with a foot of stem and hang it in a dry, airy place to finish. West of the Cascades, fall rain can mold heads left outside, so bring them in early.

Good neighbors

Pole beans. Can climb sturdy stalks of tall varieties.
Squash. Grows beneath and shades the soil.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with sunflowers in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Birds and slugs

Signs: Seedlings gone overnight.

What to do: Cover the seedbed until plants are a few inches tall.

Flopping

Signs: Heavy heads bend over in wind.

What to do: Stake tall types.

Saving sunflower seed

Will it come true?

Bees cross sunflowers, and many cut-flower varieties are hybrids, so saved seed often grows different plants. Open-pollinated types are the ones worth saving.

How to save it

Let the back of the head turn yellow-brown, and cover it with a paper bag or mesh to keep birds off. Cut it and dry it under cover, then rub the seeds out. Store dry seed in a labeled paper envelope in a cool, dry place.

Common questions about growing sunflowers

When should I plant sunflowers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in the garden: May 10 – Jun 21 in Portland and Seattle, May 15 – Jun 26 in Spokane, May 1 – Jun 12 in Boise and Jun 16 – Jul 28 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Do sunflowers really follow the sun?

Young plants do: their buds and leaves turn from east to west during the day and reset overnight. Once the flowers open, most mature heads stop moving and stay facing roughly east.

Why are my sunflower heads empty of seeds?

Poor pollination is the usual cause, from too few bees or cool, wet weather at bloom. Some cutting varieties like ProCut are bred to be pollenless so they don't shed on tables, and they make few seeds.

Can I transplant sunflower seedlings?

It's possible if you move them very young and keep the root ball intact, but they often stall. Sowing directly in the garden usually gives stronger, faster plants.

See what else to plant in May or June.