Zinnias from seed (direct)- exactly HOW easy are they?

15 years ago

I am a die-hard winter-sower, and start everything but poppies using milk jugs and putting them outside starting in December/January.

I have probably 200+/- containers out there right now doing their thing. What I HAVEN'T done yet are my zinnias, which would be sown now in the grande scheme of Winter Sowing schedules. I have TONS of them that I'm planning on sowing, but I'm contemplating foregoing the containers and direct-sowing them. I've heard they are super easy to direct-sow.

So my question list goes something like this:
Are they ALL easy, or are there some (hybrids, or newbie kinds) that would benefit from a different kind of start? (I have everything under the sun from shorties to 36" ones, Pinwheels, Profusions, Highlights, C&C again, Dreamland, Benary's, Magellans, etc etc)

I'm in NH, where we tend to have decent spring weather (warm, cold, wet, dry...spring is just that- spring...sun, rain, no rain...sometimes more rain than we'd like, but no lack thereof, usually), so will I need to 'tend' direct sown seeds, or just let Ma Nature do her thing?

How concerned am I with these things moving/shifting after sowing, or getting eaten by birds? We pretty much don't have critters...just a lot of birds.

Can I just 'back-date' my sowing from last frost date going by the germination time on the packet? I know from Winter Sowing that they can keel with the slightest freeze, but since I have so many of them, and because I am putting them essentially 'everywhere' (using them as fillers, as well as mass plantings), I don't really have a way of covering them all, should we get a rogue frost.

Thoughts? THANKS!!!

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Comments (5)

homemommy
15 years ago
This is my first year sowing Zinnias directly too. In the past I put them into little peat pellets, let them grow a couple weeks and then put them out. They where always magnificent, the envy of the neighbourhood! Then, last year we where selling the house, and I forgot to get them started. Around June, the agent told me that I needed more "colour" in the garden, so off to the nursery I went to buy my sure fire Zinnias, already started for me! I spent a fortune on them, they where in 4 or 5 inch pots, and almost 8 inches high when I planted them and the result was... PITIFUL! Those poor flowers struggled and clumg for dear life the whole growing season!

So, I have become a big believer that direct sown, or sown very closely after germinating is indeed best!

since you have so many seeds, I would perhaps throw down some seed when you think you "might" get away with it. but hold some back for the next few weeks, and overseed... This way if frost does get the first bunch, you will have more to try!

I have not adivce for birds, but if the seed is burried or raked in, chances are I would think they would leave it alone.

As for frost, my mother lives in a zone 1. (Yeah, not a typo). The thing all the old ladies do with their plants, because they do manage to grow things in those 50-75 days they can... is throw a blanket over anything that is frost sensitive for the night if the weather threatens. They all keep a stack of "garden blankets" handy. It is very easy then to cover large areas, quickly, with little fussing! And has worked with excellent results for as long as they can remember!
calliope
15 years ago
Zinnias do very well sown directly into your garden beds.
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Zenman, Thanks! Little tips like that really can help. I like how the velcro you use is unobtrusive and would not look ugly in the garden. I guess the Sharpie marker you use holds up ok. It would not have to last a very long time. Usually I harvest rose hips in fall, so it would be just a matter of six months or so that they'd have to last. I have switched to an oil based paint pen for outdoor labels that I need to hold up longer. I simply overwhelm myself with making doing crosses out to be super hard. I think if I start small it'll help . I think many rose breeders in the past often used open pollinated hips but " selfs" are supposedly not as good as some crosses can be. I have some combinations in mind that would be fun to try anyway. Right now I have two flats of rose seedlings under lights, and I take them outside to be in the sun when it's warm enough. Thanks re my striped rose. I named it after my mom...it's Fran's Pirouette. It makes a nice branchy shrub about 3.5 x 3.5' and reblooms. Is reasonably healthy. Here are a few other of my open pollinated seedlings: You can see it gets some blackspot. The parent plant is Louis XIV, an old rose with great rebloom and fragrance. It usually doesn't set hips so I was excited to get a seedling from it. The plant has good vigor. The blooms are smaller than Louis XIV. I named it after my late dog, Jack Daniel. This one is Sunnyside Bob, named after my husband. Not the strongest plant but pretty and fragrant with good rebloom: This is The Good Dog which is healthy and vigorous: and one named after my daughter, Lauren Elizabeth. This one is powerfully fragrant, is probably a climber, repeats, has a ton of petals but "balls" or fails to open sometimes. It came from Climbing Crimson Glory, but my seedling has a lot more petals. It is just fun. Always a surprise to see what you get. It's not hard to grow rose seeds. You just pick the hip, dig out the seeds which are pretty big, refrigerate them for a couple of months in damp paper towels, put those in plastic bags, then plant in Jan or Feb in seed starter mix. I grew some gigantic zinnias last year...biggest I ever grew. Came from a pack of California Giants. I like some of the smaller flowered ones too and the green ones look worth a try. You have some interesting seedlings.
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davemichigan
15 years ago
Last year was my first time growing zinnias. I found them VERY easy. I direct sowed them outdoor. In 2 days you can see sprouts already.

But snails/slugs love the seedlings. My first batch was almost completely wiped out by snails. So please get some snail baits and use them especially when they are young.

Here are some flowers from the same packets. Note the petal shapes are different. I am getting into hybridizing and love these, but I started too late last year to actually hybrize them and have seeds.

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DYH
15 years ago
I just direct sowed seeds last week (zone 7b) and they have already germinated! I sowed them just before several days of rain, so the soil stayed moist, then the sun popped out and so did the seedlings.

I'm a newbie (I've always gone the pots of perennials and shrubs route) at direct sowing and am having great success. My larkspur and poppies sown last fall are raging plants right now and I have high hopes for blooms.

Cameron
jackied164 z6 MA
15 years ago
Winter sowing and even starting them indoors will give you a jump on direct sowing. zinnia's are really very robust plants and will survive a lot of abuse. The only danger, aside from flopping leggy indoor seedlings are winter-sown ones that get frozen. Direct sown ones, though, are totally easy and moreover bloom and shine exactly when many other things are pooping out. If you have a garden bed all ready I would say just direct sow.

Zinnias from seed (direct)- exactly HOW easy are they?

Comments (5)

homemommy

calliope

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