Another sunflower question

[Tilly2]

I have fifteen sunflowers in my garden which have all flowered. Some of them have now gone past their best and the faces are drooping towards the ground.
Do I cut the heads/faces off and leave them on the ground for the birds or do I leave them on the stem?

Some of them have a second flower appearing further down the stem

Basically, I want to know if the sunflower seeds will form if I cut the heads off. I grew them specifically for the birds to eat so want to make sure I do the right thing.

Thank you.

[tonyav]

Tilly, I am no gardener but could you not take the seeds of the heads and dry them out in the greenhouse or something like that ?.

[Tilly2]

Morning Tony,

Thank you.

That sounds like a good idea but I'm concerned that the seeds won't form if I cut them off too soon.

[tonyav]

Morning Tilly, So the flower heads are not dead yet then.

[boxtops]

You need to leave them until the last minute, tilly, so they ripen - the stalks will start to shrivel. The one with the second flower, you could cut that stalk off above the new flower, otherwise a lot of nourishment will go to the seeds.

[mazie]

Morning Tilly. Personally I would leave them on. The birds will be happier feeding higher up (cats) especially the finches which will be attracted to them

[Tilly2]

O.K. Thank you.

I'll leave them on the stalks.
They just look so sad!

[tonyav]

Is there any way you could perhaps prop them up garden cane or something like that.

[Tilly2]

They are propped up, Tony. Propped, but sad and droopy.

[tonyav]

Oh well Tilly, never mind at least the birds will get to have a feast.

[Tilly2]

Yes, they will. The whole garden was designed to be wildlife friendly. I love my garden.

[tonyav]

I can see that from your posts, Tilly.