Sunflower too tall

Question

I have a large border that contains a big area of annual sunflowers. In the past 5 years the flowers have become shriveled and do not open fully. They also grow far too high and I am five foot and they are easily a foot taller at their peak. I have 2 questions:

1. Can I stunt their growth a bit?
2. How do I get the flowers to bloom as they did?

The border was well established before I bought the house and there are far too many to dig up!!

Answer 1

Are they getting full sun and enough water (they need lots of water)? They are also heavy feeders. I would amend the soil with either compost, well-composted manure or fertilizer. I bet over time the sunflowers have depleted the nutrients from the soil they are growing in.

There really is no way to stunt the growth of a sunflower. You may want to consider pursuing sunflowers of a shorter variety.

Here is an article on sunflower problems that may interest you:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sunflower/sunflower-problems.htm

And some articles on sunflower care:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sunflower/growing-sunflowers-in-your-garden.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sunflower/growing-the-sunflowers-as-food.htm

For more information on perennial sunflowers, please visit the following link:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sunflower/is-my-sunflower-an-annual-or-a-perennial-sunflower.htm