I am sorry you haven't had luck with them, my sunflowers have pleased me to no end ever since I was little enough to stick in a seed. Mom said she remembered when I was so upset not because of something she thought it was, but because the "boys" had knocked mine down, so I had to be pretty little.
I have lost them to a pointer that went down the line nibbling up the seedlings. I have had an impatient squirrel tear the flowers up before they opened. A rabbit too, so maybe something like that is your culprit.
you can tell from where I have mine planted, some sun, even a lot of sun, is not enough, it has to be full on fry an egg spot to make them happy. Not too much water, in fact, unless there is a drought, they don't need much. The less sun the smaller the stalk and the smaller the flower.
This year they have reached a whole new height. Don't know why, same soil as last year. So it has to be something else. Different seeds so it isn't the seed type either. All I know is I love my giants and miss them when they are gone, and can't wait all winter until I can put them in and watch them grow. Hyia wrote in her diary, Nana's sunflowers are tall this year.
I am glad we have them to share together. No matter how hard the day, when you turn the corner and step into the garden, it just makes things so much better for me and for her. The best part is the gold finches that come. I was within 5 ft of a pair that were checking if the seeds were ready yet. I hope one day the right spot will be there for you. Soil doesn't seem to make much difference. I have both poor and a bit richer, you can tell from the nasturtiums. The ones next to the building are in crap soil, and the queen of them all that survived the microburst is in a bit richer.
That one lost a lot of leaves in the high wind, which is a shame, but I have my fingers crossed that the holly lock will fill in the space. Either way, it will be done in a month's time and removed.
THe neighbor's dog thought he was going to step over the fallen fence and urinate on ever bed, from every angle. I hope I have him foiled with a metal bedframe I put up. His owner said sorry (as I came out to see him with his leg hiked on the strawberry patch....but kept letting the dog out by himself anyway. Since I doubt the owner will replace the fence I am going to have to think of something I can do there that will work as one. I finally get some Arkansas traveler to grow and now the fence is gone. So, maybe I can make one out of sticks, who knows. I have access to loads of sticks.
The sunflower lost the bottom leaves too, there was too much wind damage, I just cut them off.
THe ones beside the building where unharmed. one over by the fence was twisted like a piece of rope, nothing to do but pull it out. Always surprises me how little roots they reall have, no more than a football sized clump.
THis was taken a week before the storm, now there is one less and the rest are a foot taller.
it
blew off every petal but one.
sure was a bright clean sky after 3 inches of rain. The neighbor boy said he was out looking for his cat when he saw what looked like a water spout of rain shoot across the field towards my building. It hit the fence, jumped over, and took trees down by the bridge. I thought it was odd that half of my flowers were blown one way and the rest the other. I thought the tall phlox were toast laying on the ground, but they dried out and stood up beautifully. We are getting many swallowtail butterflies right now because of them.