Cut flowers
Sunflower Plant Spacing Calculator
Helianthus annuus
Start with the source-backed 6-inch spacing default, then enter your bed length and width to calculate an approximate plant count, seeds or starts needed, and the spacing used. Defaults are editable so your variety and growing system can take priority.
Quick spacing answer
How far apart should you plant sunflower?
Start with 6 inches between plants using a intensive bed layout. The source-backed range in this dataset is 6–18 inches.
This crop has distinct dataset profiles: Branching (18″) and Single-stem (6″). Choose the matching profile in the calculator instead of treating one spacing as universal.
At a glance
- Recommended spacing
- 6″
- Supported range 6–18″
- Planting pattern
- Intensive bed
- Time to first production
- Varies by variety
- Enter your supplier's maturity value to estimate
- Succession planting
- Recommended
- Every 14 days
- Start indoors
- 4 weeks before
- before last frost
- Production pattern
- One-hit producer
How many sunflower plants do I need?
Enter your bed length and width below. The shared calculator is prefilled with Sunflower's sourced spacing and shows the approximate plant count, spacing used, and seeds, starts, or planting material to prepare where appropriate.
Your plan
- Spacing used
- 6″
- Seeds to start (10% buffer)
- 771
- 72-cell trays needed
- 11
- 128-cell trays needed
- 7
Sunflower spacing chart
These values come from the existing crop record. The density column is derived planning math and does not add a new horticultural recommendation.
| Context | Spacing | Geometric plants/sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Branching | 18″ | 0.4 |
| Single-stem | 6″ | 4.00 |
Plants per square foot is transparent square-grid planning math (144 ÷ spacing²), not an extension-service recommendation or a guarantee of field performance.
Sunflower in raised beds
Enter the raised bed's actual length and width in the calculator. It applies the selected spacing and intensive bed model to estimate how many planting positions fit; it does not assume a crop-specific raised-bed recommendation that is absent from the source data.
Sunflower per square foot
At 6″ spacing, square-grid geometry equals approximately 4.00 plants per square foot. This is a geometric planning estimate based on the displayed spacing—not an agronomic guarantee. The calculator may use a different documented model for intensive bed layouts.
Why sunflower spacing changes
Variety, production system, support, and planting layout can change usable spacing. Plantometry keeps the sourced default editable and shows a range only when the crop record supports one.
How many sunflower plants fit in my bed?
Use the calculator above with your bed dimensions. The result shows the approximate plant count, the spacing used, and seeds or planting material to prepare where appropriate.
More Sunflower planning
Planning notes
One-hit producer. A planting gives a concentrated harvest over a short window, so more frequent successive plantings are used to keep a continuous supply.
- This crop can be direct sown.
- First-production timing varies by cultivar and growing system, so enter the maturity value from your seed supplier to estimate production.