The name says it all, large cherry 5 inch faces of golden yellow petals with soft brown centres are produced on extra dwarf plants with a compact habit. This variety is attractive for bedding displays and in small containers.

These early blooming sunflowers will bloom in just 50 days or less from seed and only grow 25-38cm (10-15in) high in containers and 50-75cm (20-30in) high in the garden.

Big Smile is also “day length neutral”, so it can be grown to bloom year round either in the garden or in the greenhouse.

Sowing:
Sow indoors in Feb-April, outdoors in May. Please remember when positioning your sunflower that, though they track the sun when in the budding stage, a mature sunflower will almost always face to the east.

Starting in pots:
For early flowers, start indoors as early as February or March, to germinate in about 10 days at 60 - 65°F. Plant out in April or May.
Use 7.5cm (3in) pots and a good sowing compost. Sow one seed 2.5mm (1in) deep per pot. Water and either cover with polythene or bubble plastic to retain the heat, or place pots on a heated bench or in a propagator with the temperature set at 13°C (55°F).
Remove the covers when the leaves appear. Plant seedlings outside when they are large enough to be handled and the root system is well developed. Add garden compost to the soil if it is heavy or infertile.

Direct planting:
Plant outside as early as possible to miss heavy frosts, to germinate in about 1 - 3 weeks. Sow seed 5cm (2in) deep and spaced 45cm (18in) apart in borders. Water seedlings regularly and, when growing tall forms, feed sparingly with a liquid fertiliser when 60cm (2ft) high. Avoid splashing water or fertiliser solution on the stems or leaves.

Beware of slugs when they are still young plants and birds stealing the seeds.

Cut flowers:
For continuity of blooms, sow a succession of sunflowers every fortnight for six weeks in the early part of the growing season. In a hot summer, each cycle from sowing to blooming will take about 60 days.
Pick flowers early in the day, but wait until the sun has dried the dew. Remove leaves that are low on the stem, leaving just two or three higher up, near the flower's face. Place the flowers in a bucket filled with water, and leave them to stand for several hours in a cool room before placing in a vase. Change the water every few days. Blooms can last up to a fortnight when kept in water.

Plant Uses:
Cottage/Informal Garden, Flower Arranging, Flowers Borders and Beds or Wildflower Gardens, Children

Explaination of "Day Length Neutral":

Plant flowering responses to day length (which is also called 'photoperiod'), can be divided into three distinct groups: short-day, long-day, and day-neutral flowering responses.

a. Short-day plants flower when night length exceeds a certain number of hours,
they induce flowers naturally as nights get longer at some point after June 21.

b. Long-day plants require a night length shorter than a specific number of hours for flower induction to occur.
Most bedding plants are “long-day plants”. There are two categories:
• “Facultative” long day plants flower quicker under long days.
• “Obligate” long day plants only flower when grown under long days.

c. Day-neutral plants flower induction is unaffected by day length,
so can be grown to bloom year round either in the garden or in the greenhouse.