Zinnias

Hello,

I have been contemplating zinnia's this coming season (zone 5). One reason I have been holding back is because I didn't realize there was spray available to fight the fungus. What I'm wondering is how hard/easy is it to sow from seed in your yard without starting seed indoors. Also, what are the easiest zinnias to grow. Where is a good cheap place to get seed? Parks has some cute ones, what are your thoughts?

Thanks.

Megan

This message was edited Feb 10, 2006 9:49 PM

Megan,
You're seeding zinias in your yard? Crazy
I grow zinnias in a few beds and pots. I have had some with powdery mildew, I haven't sprayed any for it yet though - usually a late season problem. There are quite a few with good resistence - they almost all list if they are - selling point. I grow 3-4 kinds a year, this year OMG I have swirls,zowie,envy,old mexico,chippendale daisy,uproar rose. Yes I am looking for more pots to buy.
They really are a must have. I do not start any early, they bloom mid summer to past frost.
Cheap place - I don't know I bought 'envy' at Walmart today for 97c.
Al

Thanks Al... someone mentioned they were easy to grow in sod if you have a sunny location and that I have a-plenty (but I have to roto till first). I can honestly say I have only checked 2 places with zinnia's and I didn't see any mention of mildew and that includes Park's. So you grow your seeds in pots only? Very intersting, that is something I would love to try out for zinnia's only. Do you collect the seeds later? I am in Walmart garden center weekly, so I will check their seeds. The price sounds like you got "The Walmart Seeds price" which is outstanding and if that is the case, the majority of those seed packs are heirloom.

Megan

Megan,
OK I pulled them all out. The only ones that said on the packet mildew resistant were Old Mexico - an heirloom go figure. I know it is listed in catalogs more detailed. I really buy a lot of Burpee's, but that's me. Either way I would look thru their catalog and maybe Johnny's for further info. You are not going to get new varieties cheap(Zowie was $4 online - not in any stores around here either) I didn't save any seeds last year, I will this year.
Walmart has a lot of burpees and their heirloom stuff too.
As with any disease prone plants try not to water them later in the day.
Al

I grow zinnias every year with much success. They are one of the easy plants to grow from seed. I just came up from my basment, and they have germinated. I have geraniums, zinnias, and dahlias growing right now. Many more varieties to plant soon. Just use a sterile seed statring mix. Plant your seeds, spray with warm water, and cover with plastic wrap. Once they germinate, put thme under a grow light. Good Luck!!

Ironsides

Megan, Zinnias are very easy to grow using the direct sow method. The key to preventing mildew is early-in-the day watering (as stated by Al above) and not overcrowding your plants. You should thin to about a foot apart to promote good air circulation. If you want the plants to bloom a few weeks earlier, than you can start the seeds indoors. But, if your not familar with indoor seed starting, I suggest the direct sow method.

I live in a very very wet place. Our annual rainfall average exceeds that of Seattle. I have had spectacular results growing Seeds of Change's "Purple Dahlia" zinnia, "Shades of Pink" zinnia, and "Righteous Red". And I plant large raised beds thick with plants.

I have been gardening with Seeds of Change's seeds for years and it is rare to ever get a seed that will not germinate; honestly, it has been virtually 100% germination with all seeds tried. They have never failed or even come up sub-par. They are my number one choice.

One other thing, you said you were going to roto-till. You're probably going to end up with a lot of grass and weeds in your new flower bed. It's a lot of hard work, but I first remove all the top growth using a butterfly hoe. I think there might be tools out there that might do a better job, but that's what I use. Then I spade (or use a tiller) in lots of peat moss (I don't have access to any compost or I would also use that). Then I let it sit for awhile and see what pops up and go over it again, and probably several more times, with my butterfly hoe. Once I'm satisfied that the weeds are under control, then I plant.

Late last summer I decided I wanted a new garden bed along one side of my house that was all grass. I covered the area with newspaper and just left it for several weeks. The grass died and the top growth was easier to remove. I left it sitting over the winter and I'll finish it up in April. Depending on the weather, I hope to have it all planted by mid-May. There's going to be Clematis and lilies with a few other perennials and I'll use annuals as fillers until the bed matures (or I feel like changing it); maybe even some zinnias which I will direct sow.

There's nothing more rewarding than creating a new plant bed, but it can be hard work, so if you've never done anything like this before, start small so you don't become discouraged. As your confidence grows, so shall your flower beds.

Hi, megan-- a couple more notes-- you can try wintersowing with your Zinnias, especially if you are doing containers-- just plant them in your container and slip a plastic bag with air and drainage holes over and set it on your deck around March 1n nice, especially if your garden isn't ready yet.

I'm doing Wsowing with my Zinnias (Benary Giants) -- if you haven't already check out the Wintersowing thread to see the details

http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/coldsow/all/

And here are a few Zinnias that are known to be mildew resistent--

Old Mexico, Orange Star, Pinwheel, Star White, the profusion series and Benary Giants.

And a nice list of zinnias with pictures and descriptions (although I have never purchased from this company) http://www.seedman.com/zinnia.htm

Good luck! We will want to see pics this summer! t.

Hi Megan,
I sent you some of this info in a DMail but here is some additional info (I think some of my links didn't go).

Yes -- it is true that in Mass, the powdery mildew is usually not a problem if you water early and usually not until the end of the season when everything gets 'tired' in the garden. But some years it can be more of a problem if we get excessive rain.

Here are some zinnias with single/double dahlia shaped flowers. Plants grow about 2 to 2.5 ft tall:
Canary Bird (yellow), Candy Cane (red/wh striped), Enchantress (deep pink color), Elegans Zebra (striped mixed), Lavender Gem, Persian Carpet(striped mixed), Salmon (very pretty), Scarlet, Violet Queen, Whirligig (striped mix), Purple Prince

Here is one that is very mildew proof in my garden. Plants grow about 2 to 2.5 ft tall:
Lilliput Mix (smaller dahlia shaped flowers only 1 or 1.5 inches across)

These two are more like daisies:
Pinwheel Mix, Pinwheel Rose

I did not have good luck with these large dahlia shaped flowers ones:
Purity (white) -- brown spots on flowers after rain, not many flowers
Envy (green) -- few flowers on plant but intriguing green color!

Here is a couple of short ones (only 6-8" tall):
Thumbelina Mix, Dwarf Sprite

You can find these at Walmart, Target, KMart, HomeDepot, Lowes, some grocery stores, Walgreens or online. Check the stores first as they have a good selection of these varieties before paying the shipping. Many of the online sources have these varieties like Renees Garden is one that comes to mind.

Here are some exciting new ones that you may wish to try:
-Spider zinnias
-Zowie Flame (see front cover of People, Place Plants Magazine -- http://www.ppplants.com)
-Profusion Zinnias (see this link for picture: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/annuals/msg0105203123513.html)

Be sure to pinch back to encourage branching.

Sue

The photo is Zinnia elegans 'Enchantress'.

I ordered Benary's Giant Purple from Sand Hill Preservation. The ad stated I would get 15 seeds for $1.50. I had heard that Sand Hill always sent you more seeds than advertised, so just for fun I decided to count them. I had 186 seeds in one package. I couldn't believe it.

Last year I planted a lot of the Profusion zinnias. They were spectacular.

Johnny's seems to have the best selection of zinnias of the companies I have looked at.

im planting zinnia as well for the other filler in my bulb bed purple prince from burpee, just sowed them tonight on top of the fridge my question is do they need light to germinate?

My zinnias just had normal light in the room and they germinated very well. Wish I could start zinnias. I'm jealous. I have at least a foot of snow outside and it was about 20 degrees today.

One thing I was told about zinnias is this: Don't start them indoors more than 3-4 weeks before they are going to be planted outside. They don't like their roots disturbed. If they are disturbed the doubles often revert to being singles.

hi looney yes i was told the same thing so im starting them in peat pots to give a shot at 1 repot before they go out if its still to early but my greenhouse is almost ready for occupancy so im getting very excited.

One very beautiful combination I had in a garden was Agastache (purple) and intensely pink zinnias. And they both bloomed for what seemed forever. I'm going to try to do it again this year.

hey miss! i have the purple prince started what was the name of the pink variety you liked,,,

I plant Seeds of Change's "Shades of Pink" zinnias. The Agastache is from White Flower Farm..."Blue Fortune", but it's purple to me.

hmmm i wonder if your soil is influinceing color? down here on the martian plateau the a,,,dirt....is bit dense and has been known to influince such things but ill check my catalogs to see if i can locate those seeds.

I had Golden Jubilee Agastache last year and hope it shows up again (one of those out-of-zone plants). The bumble bees went crazy for it. Also got a tad too big for where I planted it, so I moved it last fall. I was so impressed with this plant, I jotted a note to myself to buy MORE even if it ends up being an annual here.

I just had to giggle at the last comment about the bumble bees. I've noticed that when catalogs advertise that certain flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies they really mean bumble bees and wasps!

I'm going to have to look at the pink zinnias and the Agastache. Sounds nice.

I would much rather have the bumblers in my garden than the regular honeybees. They don't get too exicted about anything and if you get in their way, they just move to the next flower. A few wasps did try to move in, but the bumblers wouldn't let them. Also had a slew of butterflies last year, but they liked the verbena and coneflowers and salvia and phlox. They also seemed to like the hardy geraniums alot. They tended not to go where the bumblers were working and vice versa.

I don't know too much about bumblers, but I think they were actually living in the Agastache. When I'd go out to water at the crack of dawn, I'd find several sleeping, or whatever they do at night, among the leaves. I'd also find them in my Geranium pots taking a rest. I look forward to seeing them again.

I have really good luck with the Profusion series (not a bit of problem with mildew/fungus), and the Dreamland series.

With the Dreamland Series, I have noticed that I have better luck at avoiding mildew if the plants have a bit of room between plants to allow for air circulation. Also mulching around the plants seems to help in avoiding mildew problems.

Also when you water, you want to avoid getting the foliage wet if possible. Soaker hoses covered with a layer of mulch are a good option.

HI!
I raise zinnias every year along an 80 ft fence on our property line, just about every kind. I start mine early in the greenhouse and have never had a problem transplanting.

I raise mine for cut flower arrangements and start cutting when they start blooming,which encourages growth, by the end of the summer they are higher than the fence. I have soaker hoses buried in the dirt around them (we have a lot of sand) and give them miracle grow about every two or three weeks.

Hey I would love to see some pics of that this year. I have about 6 kinds for this year, but they will be scattered in pots.
Al

btailoring - That looks great. I want to see pictures later in the year, too. My purple zinnias will be along a fence in the front with apricot profusion zinnias below them. I am planning to use soaker hoses this year. Otherwise, our sprinkling system just doesn't reach all the flowers.

Does anyone save zinnia seeds?

LooneyLinda:

I collected zinnia seeds last fall for the first time. In my "Shades of Pink" mix from Seeds of Change, there were several plants which produced a gorgeous coral colored flower and I want to see if I can grow more of them this year. They are properly stored in glassine envelopes in a seed-saving tin with dessicant. I will try to remember to tell you what happens with them.

I always start zinnias indoors and transplant in May.

btailoring--I am so jealous! And just when I thought I was doing good getting these orange and yellow Magellans and scarlet/yellow swizzle mix in the ground this weekend. My personal observations from the humidity capital of the nation (or at least it seems that way from May to October--lol) is that the newer hybrid varieties do better as far as the fungus goes. I had no problems last year. Zinnia is one of the few seeds I don't save since I use so many hybrids--but I do grow all my zinnias from seeds (which is probably one reason they are yelling--GIVE ME FERTILIZER!--lol).

Here's my little zinnia area--will show it to ya'll when they grow up and bloom! lol

This message was edited Mar 14, 2006 7:35 PM

Is anyone growing the Profusion zinnas? Or maybe it is called threadleaf. Something different?

I grow the scarlet ones in hanging pots...just haven't started them yet.

Does anyone have any extra seeds to trade?

I have better luck with direct sowing, but only after the end of may, soil needs to be warm for best germination, here with our long growing season, if is usually better to start a second crop late July to early August as the mildew builds and blooming suffers 1st crop gives up the ghost about middle to end of Aug, our heat and humidity is mildew heaven, that later crop will go till there is a hard freeze. It is best to have some distance between 1st and 2nd crop or the mildew will catch on quickly and ruin the 2nd one. This should probaly work up to 6a and worth trying further north. Good Luck

I hear you bermuda--sounds like we are neighbors. It would be nice here in Tx if we would at least get a little rain to go with our humidity this spring and summer.
Debbie

We sure got that last summer, didn't rain much but rain often, my water bill rarely broke $50, and we were > 12" down for the year, just about the time it got dry enough to do something i'd rain again, weird, then in the late summer through early winter, nothing to speak of, Katrina sent us 2" and Rita less than 1" and that was it till end of November getting pretty dry here again, looks like it is going to a a HOT early Spring, Hope yours is decent. Haven't been to Houston in over 2 decades, but i sure remember it as hot as all getout and the air was chewy,lol.

Chewy that's a good description; It was foggy and cloudy this morning and when the sun came out this afternoon it was chewy enough to cut it with a knife! LOL....I got 9, possibly 10 drops of rain out of Rita.

Bluegrass--dmail me, I just put in an order for some orange profusion today; I'll be happy to send you some.

Debbie

Like any other plant that you grow from seed, zinnias need transplanting. I have grown zinnias all of my life, they are the easiest plant to grow from seed. I have 88 zinnias growing right now in my basement. They are nice and healthy and have been transplanted twice. They will go into the ground in the spring now. You can't be afraid of handling your plants, or you will get tall lanky plants.

This message was edited Mar 19, 2006 6:44 PM

Zinnias don't like overhead watering. They also are prone to snail damage. Give lots of sun and protect from snails. Best of luck. When I say sun, I mean SUN.

I grew Seeds of Change's "Righteous Red" zinnia last year and paired them with Anemone "Honorine Jobert" in this casual bouquet. Their centers are so similar, and each so pure in its own color. These red zinnias grew well for me in spite of a very cool and wet summer, and they were butterfly magnets.

They are starting to "perk up" and bloom a bit.....lol
Debbie

Here is a picture of some of my zinnias, dahlias, and celosia that I am growing from seed. Much too early for us to plant, but they are on theri way and will be ready for spring!

ironsides wow! you are way ahead of me my celosia is but little sprouts but they are established time to pot up for me, any tips on keeping them from going into shock mine are in peet pots and are about 2" high sprouting their third set of leaves.