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Q: Hi Ken, I have some lovely sunflowers but the leaves are going yellow and dying where am I going wrong? Also, I have for the first time this year grown sweet peas and they have been lovely, but I wonder what to do with them now as they are almost at the end of their flowering and they look shabby and now have plenty of seeds on them. When should I take these off. Many thanks, Barbara from Gidea Park
A: The sunflowers sound as if they have had too much water, could this be the case? This year is one of the worst and the latter few weeks temperatures have fluctuated so much this could also be affecting them. The bottom leaves are generally inclined to yellow and drop but not all the way up. Best of luck.
As for sweet peas, they do end their life about now [August] and if the flowers are picked regularly, and the plant not allowed to go to seed, then they always flower for a little longer. A good tip for next year: If you have seed, allow it to dry on the plant and save for future planting. Depending on which sweet pea they may not come true to type and or may not produce seed.
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