Will sunflower seeds that have been left out all winter germinate?

Question

I forgot to remove a large sunflower before winter and after the snow hit I was unable to get to it.

The seeds were left in the head all winter but the plant is high enough that it wasn't buried in snow. The head also drooped so the seeds are facing down and therefor protected a bit from rain and could drain.

Any thoughts on if they'll be able to germinate or not? I'm going to give them a try but hoping someone might have some thoughts. I do have other seeds I did harvest but part of me is wondering if this might have been a good way to store the seeds in the first place.

Answer 1

If they're still there (not eaten, bored into, etc), then yes, they will grow. I have sunflowers naturalized along the woods' edge in one spot. They return year after year on their own.

If you want to be organised, you won't be able to use seeds that fell on the ground (too hard to find), so you'll have to use what you can come up with out of the old heads.

Rub out all the seeds, and do a quick sort of them putting only whole, full-sized seeds in a pile. Then sort that by looking over the seeds, and only keeping those that have no borer holes, don't feel dry and empty, etc. This actually goes quite fast.

Plant what you have left. Don't expect huge germination rates, but a good bit should grow.