Sunflower Head Bird Feeders

Do you grow sunflowers?  I don’t have a designated spot to grow them; however, they do grow in my yard.  The birds plant them!  The dried plants make wonderful and free sunflower head bird feeders.

They Just Pop Up

One year I was lazy and didn’t want to pull the plants growing under my feeder out. As the birds are eating seed out of one of my hanging feeders, some of the seed drops below the feeder.  Throughout the growing season, sunflowers and safflowers both magically popped up.  I left them to grow under the feeder.

The safflowers and sunflowers were pretty when they bloomed. Sunflowers are fairly hearty plants and I didn’t have to do anything for them to grow. As the growing season progressed I saw a few birds pecking at the seed heads of both plants. Then a lightbulb moment happened. I grabbed cheesecloth and some rubber plants and decided to do a little experiment.

Additional Reading:
What is safflower seed
Grow your own safflower seed
Birds that eat safflower seed

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Drying Seed Heads

I experimented with three drying options and they both worked perfectly.

Option One

Sunflower Head Bird Feeders

Method one requires you to cut the seed heads off of the plant while they are green. 

Leave a long stalk to bundle several heads together with a thick rubber band and then hang them from the rafters in a cool, dry place with twine or from nails.

When the seed heads are dry, place them in a covered container.

If you don’t place them in a closed-top bin mice and squirrels will find them and you will have a huge mess. 🙁 And, that is spoken from experience


Option Two

The second method requires you to cut the seed heads off of the plant. 

Leave a long stalk to bundle several heads together with a thick rubber band and then hang them from the rafters in a cool, dry place with twine or from nails.

When the seed heads are dry, place them in a covered container.



Option Three

The third option is to enjoy the beautiful blooms of the sunflowers until the seed head becomes heavy and bow their heads.

When you see the sunflower heads bow, check to see if the seeds are fully developed by trying to rub off the dried flowers. Rubbing away the dried flowers will reveal the sunflower seeds.

Remove the dry flower blooms before storing them. If you don’t, it will just create a mess you have to clean up later. Cut off the seedheads and continue with option two above.

Additional Reading:
Birds that Eat Oranges
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Keep Birdbaths Fresh & Clean

@nikkilynn54311

Sunflowers are exceptionally easy to grow and if you have a bird feeder with sunflower seed, chances are your seeds will sprout under it. Let the flowers grow under the feeder. They are pretty and pollinators love them. When the sunflowers bow their heads and become heavy check to see if the seeds have formed. Rub the dry follow petals off and cut the stems on the long side. Rubber band them together and hang them from the rafters in a cool, dry building. Once dried, use a hammer and mail to make a hole in the top portion of the sunflower. Use a piece of twine to make a holder to tie to a tree branch or Shepherd’s hook. #sunflower #feedingbirds #flowers #garden #birdfeeder #grow #nature

♬ original sound – Nikki



Hanging the Seed Heads

Cut the dried stalk off the feeder. Punch a hole near the top of the seed head by using a long nail and a hammer and string a piece of plastic-coated twine (we call it baler twine here) through the seedhead.

The plastic-coated twine allows the seedhead to naturally swing in the wind without cutting into the seedhead, or the tree or rubbing through if hung from the shepherd’s hook it’s tied to.  As an added bonus it is strong and waterproof.

Now, I have free sunflower head bird feeders hanging around my yard starting in late fall and into the long, long, Wisconsin winter.

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