Sunflowers are one of the speediest plants you can grow. They can easily grow up to 3.0 metres tall in six months. They need a wall or support to stop them blowing over, and breaking in windy weather- plant them against a fence or wall that you can tie them to, or use a tall stake.

To sow your seeds: fill a 5 to 10cm wide pot with seed raising mix, moisten the soil so that it feels like a wrung out sponge.

Then plant 2 (or 3 seeds) in the pot, cover with water and spray or water gently. Place the pot in a bright, clear light but not where the soil will bake in the sun. Wait for the seedlings to appear. When the seeds have germinated pull out all but the strongest plant in each pot.

This leaves a strong seedling plant to grow on strongly, maybe the tallest sunflower you have ever seen! Keep the pots in a sunny, frost-free place until the sunflower seedlings have grown large enough to plant out. Make sure that the weather, and the soil, has warmed up outside.

Choose a place in the garden that is sunny and doesn’t get too much wind. Dig a hole at least 50% bigger than your plant pot for each sunflower plant. Then carefully tip the new plants out, one by one, and place them in the planting hole. Hold the plants carefully so as not to damage them or shake the soil from their roots.

Carefully fill around the plant with soil. Place a very tall bamboo or wooden stake behind the plant. Water gently. Continue to water the plant, especially in dry weather, so that the soil remains moist. Measure your sunflower plant each week to track how fast it grows, and then again when the flower appears.

Sunflower facts • Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants. They can grow 3.0 metres tall in six months. • Sunflowers come from the prairie grasslands of North America. • Sunflower seeds are rich in oil, which they store as a source of energy and food. Sunflower seeds are crushed to give us oil. We can use sunflower oil for cooking. • Sunflowers like to face the sun. The flowerheads move around from east to west during the day following the sun.