Zennia help plesse

Zenman....are you there?
Last night I planted a small Zennia bed. I have pictures below. I am still working on my spring veggie garden....as you can see I have much work to do towards the back, but the front is finished w/ 35 tomato plants, and my cucumber bed. I started seeds from Uproar Rose, Envy, and one more tall one(I can't remember the name. I planted the small plants around the edges, and I planted seeds of different color Zinnia Profussion in 4 rows in the middle as the picture shows. Is this going to work w/ the tall Zinnia's in the rear, and to the side, and the shorter Profussion in the middle. Thanks in advance. The last picture is from last year from the bed to the right of the new bed.

This message was edited Mar 28, 2012 3:15 PM

Hornstrider,

"Is this going to work w/ the tall Zinnia's in the rear, and to the side, and the shorter Profussion in the middle?"

I am here. Yes, it will work. Zinnias are adaptable. I am not sure that arrangement is ideal. Zinnias compete with each other for the Sun and, if you were taking a group picture of your zinnias, it would naturally make sense to have the tall ones in the rear, the medium height ones in the middle and the short ones in front. That is how you would arrange people for a group photo.

However, in the garden the competition is for Sun exposure, and the arrangement strategy is to avoid having the tall zinnias cast a shadow on the shorter zinnias. Since the Sun casts light from the south, the tall zinnias should be on the North side, the medium height zinnias south of them, and the shorter zinnias south of them. That way, they can all "see" the Sun.

I am planning to grow some tall Sunflowers this year, and I will plant them along the North edge of my garden, so they can cast a shadow out of the garden, and not into it.

ZM

Thank you Zen_Man........I am afraid I was mistaken about the variety of seeds planted in the middle of the bed. They were Elegant's, not Profusion. I also think the plants I put into the ground as a border are Elegant's. So I believe I will have a Elegant Zinnia flower garden.

Last night I planted 124 Profusion seeds of different colors in the greenhouse. How big should I let them get before I put them into the ground. I used IHORT seed starting plugs. They are a spongy biodegradable material made from tree bark. I used these plugs for my tomato seeds, and they are a winner for me. There is a thread on the tomato forum about the plugs.

Hi hornstrider,

You didn't say what size IHORT plugs you are using, but based on their selection, I assume they are no larger than 3 inches in diameter, and yours could be smaller.

http://www.ihort.com/index.cfm?category=47

You don't want your zinnia seedlings to get too large compared to the size of the plug, so I would say you wouldn't want your zinnias to get more than 6 inches tall before you set them out. I would think that, being in Texas, you might already have had your last killing frost. If that is the case, I think I would set them out in about three weeks from now. Once the ground warms up, you can direct seed zinnias into the place where you want them to grow.

ZM

Thank you Zen_Man.......I knew you would help

WOULD just like to say that
at this rime of year inTX it
is not necessary to start them
in the greenhouse and then
set them out.

You can just direct-seed into
your beds in March in any year,
but even more so in 2012 with
the premature spring.

Forgot to say there are all sorts of sizes, shapes,
and colors of
z elegans, so you will prolly have a beautiful
show this summer !

Be sure to show us pics !

Wow...more help. I guess I cant fail...thank you dajablue....I will post pics....I did direct seed in the bed I pictured.....I thought I planted profusion, but the seeds were elegants....the were colored seeds...the seeds I put in the plugs were small greyish seeds...be patient with me .....I am a beginner

dahlin we aee all beginners wirh
some plant or another.

It is a chronic disease - you
never can get enough !

and you live in a wonderful area
where so many plants will
succeed


BtW it is ELEGANS

BtW it is ELEGANS.....I stand corrected, and BajaBlue not Dejablue....I just hope the Elegans, are Elegant come June. Thank you.......Where is Rancho Santa Rita, TX? Sounds like South Texas.

Here is an update on my zinnia bed. I stated in my original post above that I planted the zinnia plants around the edges, and planted seeds in the middle. I think only 75% of the seed germinated, and that will leave holes in my bed. I also mentioned that I started seeds in some IHORT plugs in the greenhouse. I have had a much better germination rate w/ the plugs. Can I just plant one of the seeded plugs into some of the holes in my bed?

yes

Thanks