Well, Sarah, now who's to say that the seed you got was pure in the first place.
If it was seed saved from a hybrid plant it will be the F2 generation hybrid and who know's what you'll get. I really don't know much about sunflower varieties I'll admit. I've always just planted mammoth just cuz it's commonly available and I've never bothered to save seed.
Originally posted by LandOfOz:
All I know is that an F1 Hybrid seed isn't going to be true to the parent, right? Also, could I use cheesecloth for bagging or would I actually need paper bags?
Well, that's right for the most part. Hybrids have two different parents, but yeah. The best thing to use for bagging is a fabric called Tulle. You can buy it by the yard at Walmart. It's very inexpensive. You wouldn't want to use cheesecloth or paper bags.
Also, geographic isolation as a form of cross-pollination prevention does not necessarily have to be huge distances. It could just be a matter of the other side of your yard. The thing to remember is that as the distance increases, the chance of ensuring pure seed increases also.