Zinnia time.....continued

We came from here!

Good morning, tropicman!! I just got some zinnia seeds planted so hope to have good germination and lots of flowers.

I always include zinnias in my very cottage garden. I love the fact that they just bloom all summer. Last year I planted them on a slope in my front yard, in back of a doulbe row of daylilies and then a batch of oriental lilies.

More zinnias

Daniel,

"...how many Zinnia seeds are in a half-pound? Close to 1,000 I would think."

Lots more than that. Zinnia seed size varies considerably with the variety, from 2,500 seeds per ounce for the larger seeds up to 6,200 seeds per ounce for the smaller seeds. Carrousel (Whirligig) zinnia seeds are fairly large, and average "only" about 2,850 seeds per ounce. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5543-carrousel.aspx There are 16 ounces in a pound, so a half pound of Carrousel seeds would be 8 ounces which would be about 22,800 seeds. That's a lot of zinnias.

ZM

I forgot to add that these were the State Fair Mix. I was going to plant the Cut and Come again but somhow ended up planting the State Fair instead. The year before I had both those kinds. I need a tall zinnia there as they have to grow up behind those oriental lilies and be seen from in front.

I was just over at the Burpee site looking at the zinnias seeds that they have. I think I will try the Burpee Giants Mix and the Pinwheel Mix.

Was hoping to get mine planted,but the hard cool north wind,would end them up in my neighbors yard!!!!
Been in the 70's and 80's last couple weeks,now 40's with a arctic breeze,with a chance of a frost tonight!
I just hate it when ole man winter and mother nature are fighting with each other!

Wheres old man winter now??? Man the dragon weeders everyone on board for global warming...



Whraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!

Said on news last night that the arctic was rebuilding again!
Something is in the works with all these quakes happening!

It's 38 degrees here in Wellsville right now, with a predicted low of 34 tonight. It's probably going to be several weeks before I set any zinnias outside.

ZM

36* here in Wichita,at 4 am

Thanks Zenman!

Only Forty degrees outside now. AND it's raining, which is really needed!

NO rain, but cool, I think I best get after my delayed loofas.

Hello everyone,

I think we were supposed to move over to this new branch of the Zinnia Time message thread, and we kind of forgot. That last Zinnia Time thread is really long and is getting longer. Just for kicks, this is a picture of one of my scabiosa flowered hybrid-of-hybrids zinnias that bloomed out indoors last week. Its guard petals are somewhat unusual, with some "toothiness" and ruffling, and I like it for that reason.

We have been having some warm weather, which was tempting me to set out some zinnias, but it got down to 40 last night, so I think I will wait a few days. Zinnias are susceptible to frost.

ZM

Zen - I love that one!

Updated pic of my first Zinnia flower bud.

GP,

That macro lens is doing a great job. But you, the one who composes the picture, deserve the credit. This picture captures that moment of maximum suspense and expectation that makes growing zinnias so much fun for me. What will that bloom look like when it opens?

ZM

That was actually the 300mm zoom lens on that one. This is one of the volunteers from last season, it will be a surprise, but I'm betting on dark pink. Thanks for the compliment.

GP,

That's an impressive use of a telephoto lens for a floral photo. Volunteer zinnias have already proved something by surviving and growing.

ZM

I love those tough plants that come back year after year. It's funny, when I lived closer to the ocean (about 1 mile away) I could not grow Zinnias. After I moved several miles away I decided to try them again, and found I could grow them.

Awesome photography! Two things I wished I had in my tool box, a macro and a tele lens. I can only do so much with cropping and enhancements.

GP,

"...when I lived closer to the ocean (about 1 mile away) I could not grow Zinnias. After I moved several miles away I decided to try them again, and found I could grow them."

I never thought of that before, because we never lived close to the ocean. But I guess that means that zinnias aren't salt-tolerant.

I like zinnias with "toothy" petals, like this recent specimen. I see "toothiness" fairly frequently now, because I have used them as breeders in the past.

ZM

Well, I don't know how close to the ocean you have to be. I can look out my living room picture window and see the water. I live on the north shore of Long Island. I have been growing zinnias here for years and years. I often buy bedding plants and also start seeds.

Maybe it's the combination of heat and salt drift down here. Anyway, moving off the barrier island was all I needed to start enjoying Zinnias again. Zen, that is one wild Zinnia!

My first one is a dazzling orange!

I had a few toothies last year, they were really wild, but nothing like yours Zen!
Pom, is that going to be a cactus? Or a single? It will be great either way!

Zinnia planting comes in a little more than a week. I am ready!

~Daniel

Daniel,

I had an orange "toothy" recently.

ZM

no gern yet...

ohhh.... That's should be on the front cover of Horticulture! It is sooo exotic!

~Daniel

Daniel,

It had an exotic ancestor.

ZM

Wowey!!!!!
I like this one !

That really is special. Here's my first in an updated photo.

GP,

That one is also special. I notice that it has at least three colors, and a coordinating darker center. That sort of bicolor-tricolor coloration is reminiscent of the Whirligig strain of zinnias, although it can show up in hybrid mixtures. A lot of my hybrids have some Whirligig ancestry, or the very similar Carrousel or Zig Zag strains.

ZM

Pom, the only word I can find for that one is Explosive.

~Daniel

Yes, I like it a lot. We'll see if it continues to change as it blooms.

Here is a pic from this morning. That pretty violet color is gone.

This message was edited Apr 25, 2010 11:49 AM

Oh. It's still nice though.

~Daniel

Howdy everyone!! Am I ever thrilled to find this thread!! I LOVE zinnias!! I grow them for the butterflies too!! I especially like growing from seeds & I try various types of zinnias each year..keeping my fav's of course.
I just have seedlings for now... things sort of got delayed with that surprise snowfall we had March 20th!
I can't wait to share with you all... I'm including a pic from last year's zinnias.

Welcome
Join in!
Keep us posted with more pics also!

New Zinnia just opening.