What to do with sunflowers for the winter?

skittle_fingers

Hi all, know nothing about gardening so hoping for some help here:

after countless failed attempts at trying to keep 'store-bought' sunflowers alive, I somehow managed to get three after roots started growing out of our birdfeeder. Theyre now between about 5 and 8 inches tall, and doing pretty well considering plant-murder runs in my genes, so I'm determined to keep them going. My sis-in-law said they need to come inside for the winter as the cold will kill them, but where would be best to keep them indoors? The house is south-facing, so I'm unsure about keeping them in the porch, would the sun glaring in through glass all day get too warm & be bad for them (or would they like that, being sunflowers?) Should they be kept in a cooler-than-greenhouse-like-environment-but-silll-warmer-than-outside place?

Any other advice people can share would be appreciated- thanks!
x

magicbastarder

some plants use the length of the day to set their clocks - i'm not sure if sunflowers do, but it may mean your ambitions are doomed.
sounds like more hassle than it's worth, to keep sunflowers going over the winter.

CJhaughey

They die off about now, the seedheads can be used to feed birds.
Forget them for now and plant more next year.

Sonnenblumen

Sunflowers will be well gone by Frost time, seeds are an invaluable food resource. Harvest the seed for winter consumption, great for a variety of baking ideas etc.