After putting my garden to rest for the winter I ponder about what sunflowers I’d like to start growing in the springtime. As I brush away leaves I think back and smile about the area I’m clearing as to what grew there last summer, and what I can take pleasure in growing there for the new season.

So, during winter I try and take stock of all the seeds I’ve saved and, like most gardeners, I scour seed catalogs, garden centers/stores/depot stores and devour the garden sections of magazines and newspapers/tabloids. And low and behold there it was. A glorious picture of a sunflower that I have the perfect area and pots for.

Its name, Sunbelievable, Brown Eyed Girl. How apt I thought, and my goodness I can’t wait. It debuted at the 2018 Chelsea flower show, London, UK. I’ve yet to have the pleasure of growing this sunflower, but from the amazing things I saw and heard, I can’t wait to get my gardening gloved hands on this little treasure and get as much pleasure from it as I’ve heard others have already had

Sunbelievable, Brown Eyed Girl, is an annual, dwarf to medium sized, multi-stemmed, multi bloom sunflower. Yellow petaled blooms with an orange center rim, encircling a chocolate, mahogany center disc. It can produce 1,000s of flowers through summer to Autumn. Great for the front or middle borders, pots, containers and much more.

‘I can’t wait to get my gardening gloved hands
on this little treasure’

Sunbelievable – Success in the Making

The plant breeders at Thompson and Morgan had in mind a sunflower that would be compact and give blooms all summer long. Several years later, and with thousands of trials behind them, their hopes of such a sunflower came to fruition. And lucky for us, Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girl was created.

Sunbelievable Description

Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girl can grow 2.5 feet tall (76 cm). The plant grows into a strong bushy form with dark green foliage. The blooms are medium sized with a mahogany center disc. This disc is encircled by an orange rim at the base of bright yellow petals. It’s stunningly beautiful, small and perfectly formed.

If conditions are right, this wonderful sunflower has been known to produce thousands of flowers throughout the summer months, and well into the autumn. A mild winter could see it still producing blooms until the first winter frosts come.  

Sunbelievable Category

Categorized as an F1 plant. This means it has been produced by selective breeding over many generations. it is also a sterile plant. This means it does not produce seeds and has been grown from the cuttings from the original plant. Luckily the cuttings took root. This ensures the new sunflowers will be exactly the same and produce the same blooms as the plant they were cut from.

This is exciting news for sunflower growers like me. The sunflowers I grow every year are from seeds, so personally, I’m looking forward to having a go at growing cuttings for myself. It’s a challenge that I hope will bring a great amount of pleasure and multiple beautiful blooms in my garden throughout my next summer.     

Sunbelievable Growing Conditions

As with any sunflowers it all Depends on your climate and growing conditions as to how well it will do. Sunbelievable can grow in dappled shade and if the summer is kind, this wonderful sunflower has been known to produce adorable blooms all summer long and well into autumn until the frost comes.

Suitable for Many Uses

This lovely sunflower is suitable for everyone. If you have one plant pot or beds and borders then this sunflower is for you. And it grows so many flowers that you can cut for lovely displays in vases (cut, just as the blooms start to open) this, in turn, will encourage the sunflower to produce more buds.

Sunbelievable blooms make beautiful bouquets!

Where to Buy Sunbelievable and Aftercare

When you’ve received you Sunbelievable sunflower plant plugs re-pot them in small pots and grow them on. After growing them on, plant them into their growing site or plant one into an eight-inch pot or three plants into a 15-inch pot.

I shall take great pleasure in updating you all when this lovely sunflower becomes available outside the UK.

After you’ve placed your order, they’re carefully packaged and sent by post in plug form. If you have trouble finding where to order them from I’ve found the link for you here.

My Final Thoughts

I hope Sunbelievable will be available worldwide soon, and not just in the UK. That way we can all enjoy this unbelievably perfectly formed brown eyed beautiful sunflower together.

I have great pleasure in growing many varieties of sunflowers. Stunning Red, orange, pink and purple ones. Small and iconic giant, tall ones. Single headed and multi bloomed. I’ve written all about their qualities with printable height charts for planning your garden layout here.

Related Questions

Are there similar sunflowers to Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girl? Yes there are similar sunflowers that can be grown from seed. These dwarf varieties are also suitable for pots, bedding and cutting too. They may not have as many blooms throughout the summer, but they’re easy to grow and glorious in their own way.