Sorry about your disappointment, sounds like a pretty zinnia; I'll look it up.

We sowed our zinnias direct all the time when I was a kid, didn't know there was any other way, never started anything in the house & my dad grew up on a farm. My dad let me plant things, but if there was any watering or weeding, he did it, everything just seemed to grow like magic then :-) or it failed occasionally :-(.

The only thing I would caution is to never let them dry out while they are germinating. I think you plant them about 1/4 inch deep or so.

I direct sowed some marigolds I saved from seeds in my large clay pots in front. Darn things, one is nicely spaced out; the other isn't coming up in half of it. I think I can transplant some because they will be too close in the other one. They and zinnias are pretty easy to grow although some exotic newer ones may be different.

I kept them watered or misted while I was waiting. Now I don't have to be quite so vigilant.

If it's something I especially want, I always get 2 or 3 packs of seeds in case I fail.

I don't like direct sowing now. My soil dries out too fast but I came up with a tactic. I wanted the florist kind of perennial baby's breath. Between dryness and squirrels, it was a fight. So I planted them in a cavity of potting soil, covered them with vermiculite, then put a 2-liter pepsi bottle over them with the cap off & bottom cut off. If there was no moisture in the bottle, it was time to water well around the outside. It worked, then I covered them with scraps of chicken wire & landscape pins. Of all the little patches, only about 3 came back this year, but that is better than nothing and they are quite drought tolerant once you get them going.

It said on the packet they resent being transplanted, but I'm not so sure now with some of the tricks you people have taught me. Sorry I went on so.

Sorry, Bonnie.

Yes, zinnias do well direct sown if the weather is warm and you keep them moist. I used to do it before WSing. It should work fine.

I didn't sow any of the profusion apricot this year, will probably miss them.

Karen

Aliska, thank you for that information. It is very helpful to hear what works for others. I am worried that I won't be able to keep the soil evenly moist. We are having 40 mph gusts again today. I watered the area this morning where I sowed them them, and again just now, and the surface was already completely dry. I like the idea of the 2L bottle to hold in the moisture, but again the trick would be keeping it from blowing away. Did I mention that I HATE the wind?

I placed a seed order the other day, and I did order another packet of these seeds. It was before my sprouts had died, and I had planned to use them next winter, but they might come in handy if this batch does germinate.

Bonnie

Aliska,
I lost most of my zinnias(and nasties,and balsam, and morning glories) to the %$&* frost!! On the 27th, not of April but May, for crying out loud !!LOL!!
-B

highaltransplant, I haven't figured a trick for rows yet. The bottles only work for spot/patch planting or you'd have to have them touching each other down the row. And it's probably not good when it gets super hot because just a top vent might not be enough. Where the bottoms are cut, they are sharp and you screw them in the ground as snugly as you can get them, they don't blow away in a moderate wind. I lost some seedlings when I took them off because the edges get bent and pull up a few no matter how careful you are, but ones in the center stay put.

One thing I might try for rows is to use as long clear plastic deli type containers like for cupcakes, put vent holes in the top and pierce holes on the edges to tack with landscape pins. Or hoops and heavy clear plastic with vent holes punched in the top, bend coat hangers or something to hold it all up, lay bricks and stones to hold the plastic down, might even work in Colorado :-). Should work like a mini greenhouse.

brandymulvaine, sorry about your loss to the (expletive) frost, that is ridiculous to have frost that late in May. I'm in E IA, and it's been a cold yucky May for the most part but no frost and lots of rain which is good. I used to grow nasturtiums but they got aphids so bad it was horrid so I quit growing them, love them though. It's probably not too late to start morning glories and "nasties" again. I'm behind, I did plant petunias indoors in the front windows in wire hanging baskets lined w/peat & a terra cotta planter to take outside later pretty late to start petunias. Got an earlier start last year.

I could run around and buy annuals but there are too many places to go now. I used to love to do it. But with some exceptions, I get better plants and exactly what I want w/seeds.

Better luck next year for all of us. Every year something screws something up.

I went and bought a hoe today, cannot believe how I got along without one. Zipped through my plots for a quickie and will do more later. Now I hurt all over because I decided to clean up the edges on the terrace with that nasty grass where I planted some hosta. I used my tiller to make a groove, but I had to dig the rest of it out, tiller is too dangerous on the hill for me when it bounces for tilling/cultivating. Lots of nasty grass w/runners. Boy was that a job.

Now I want to find out how to lay some kind of pretty edging and don't know if there is a forum for that. I don't know if you have to lay a sand base or not.

Got a soaker hose and a laundry hose to run it to the front garden (don't want the drip til it gets to the garden) and a coupler. Read on here somewhere about Grass-B-Gone and the hardware store didn't have that but Ortho makes a comparable product. I hope it works and will shield my plants just in case.

I never imagined I could do some of these chores. Some I just can't.

Maybe the landscaping forum can help me with some edging. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for all the help and ideas I've gotten here.

Oh, and I looked up those zinnias. They are really pretty, love the color, might try some next year. They kind of remind me of dahlias (sp?).

I have never ws'd zinnia here in zone 7.It is just too easy to direct sow.I have my reds sowed.It was drizzly today,so tomorrow will try to get the rest in the ground.I have about 20 packs to sow.LOve the profusions.They are my favorite.Hope you get some more.Hope I can find some of the apricot ones myself.
moonphase

Last year I direct sowed a couple varieties of Zinnias because the ones I WSed were dug up several times by the cats (rather, one of them, Gibson...bad boy).
They did great.
To protect them from the wind, can you get one of those 8-quart plastic pots or use half of a milk jug and anchor them to the ground with those metal anchor-pins? Better yet, use a laundry basket or one of those mini plastic baskets that look like laundry baskets? (I would think with the holes in those, you could get two to four anchor pins through the holes and into the ground real nice).

Linda

Yeah, I had to resow zinnias, poor things..have been frosted, wind burned, drowned and sun burned.
Tough to keep up with what Mom nature has in store for the day when you are working away from the house!

I guess I thought since they had been outside in an uncovered container, that they were tough enough to handle the elements, but the transplanting process may have just been too stressful.

The combination of high altitude sun and strong winds is so hard on plants here, I should have known to give them some extra protection. I read somewhere that the intensity of the sun increases 6% for every 1000 ft. in elevation, and I live at almost 6000 ft.

Well, the winds are calm today. I may even plant out some of my tomatoes today.

Bonnie

Zinnias and Basil are always persnickety for me. Zins seem quick to germinate when there's the slightest warm up, but then they don't always tough it out through the continuous flip flops in temps. One year, they froze. This year, they fried.
I already dumped out the containers as it didn't seem whatever other seeds were in the container were germinating. Of course I dumped them where I wouldn't mind seeing them, should they wake up later.
I Spring Sowed more, in deeper containers, and they are already transplanted out.
Now I'm thinking I might not WS my Zinnias till after the container-count is over. Mid May seems to be the best time if I want to avoid baby-sitting them.

L

Just a quick update. My direct sown zinnias are finally starting to germinate in spite of the 20 - 50 mph winds we have been having on a regular basis, but they definitely took longer to germinate than what the package states. Of course, our lows are still getting in the low 40's, which may have slowed them down a bit. The forecasted low for tonight is in the mid 30's (Yikes!), so I will put the top half of a 2L bottle over them, and hope for the best.

Bonnie

Oh that sucks!! I'm been considering starting another container of my saved seed from my Cherry Profusion, because the first round never came up. That was a first since I started growing these in 2004! I think I will do that this afternoon :D

As for losing them after planting I haven't ever had high winds do them in (when doesn't the wind blow here?), but this year something has nibbled a few of the other Zinnias I've put out...not all the way to the ground, but on the leaf margins. Most of them are still just barely out of the 1st leaf stage and have been stuck like that for a month! If they don't have a growth burst with the coming heat starting tomorrow I'm afraid they will get completely ate up.... or swallowed up by the surrounding plants :(

I find watering is extremely important after I transplant. That is doubly true when it is so windy. I live in the state where "the winds come sweeping down the plains".... :)

I try to water just about every day after I first transplant, for at least a week, maybe two, unless of course the rain cooperates and does it for me!

Lisa

I bought double cherry profusion znnia seeds from Park's this year. They were the tiniest zinnia seeds I have ever seen. ONE has germinated, and it's still tiny. Asked my friend to pick up 3 for me when she went to a local nursery. Flowers were sort of a dark rose. Now that those blossoms have faded, they are an ugly, muddy pink. Don't like them.

BTW, I think I had 100% germination on all other zinnia seeds except these tiny inferior ones from Parks. Some of my other zins are a foot tall now. I don't know why I keep letting myself get sucked in by Parks.

Karen

I got those double cherry this year too, but didn't sow them. Sowed white profusion, got great germination, but they are still so tiny!

I just can't figure what's happening with my seedlings this year, so I'm going to blame it on the soil.

PV