Hi Nina, "I buy packets that show large, full blooms and when they bloom they are about half the suggested size and one layer of petals instead of three or more." Some seed companies buy their seeds from growers who do not spend the extra money to hire people to rogue their fields, and the zinnia varieties "run out" under those conditions. Generally, the seeds in packets on seed racks are not the best. "I have bought several packets that show bluish purple and when they bloom they are always magenta or towards pink. I don't really believe there is a bluish zinnia." The color pictures on seed packets are not reliable and, even if they were pretty good to start with, the ink colors aren't lightfast, and some colors fade with exposure to sunlight. In general, seed racks are not a good place to store seeds. I have even seen seed packets that were water damaged, but still for sale in a home store. The best way to purchase seeds is by mail order or online sale from a reputable seed company. Higher prices do not always ensure higher quality, but lower prices usually mean lower seed quality. You stand a better chance of getting quality seed if you buy from a seed company that also sells to commercial growers. "I don't really believe there is a bluish zinnia." There are bluish zinnias, but they are not for sale commercially. As a person who grows zinnias as a hobby, I can assure you that there are lots of zinnias that you can't get commercially. I don't think there will be a true blue zinnia until blue genes (I always think of blue jeans when I say that) from other flowers that have true blues are added to zinnias by genetic engineering. That has already been done to get blue roses. But in the meantime, there are bluish lavender zinnias that actually look sky blue when they first open in the shade. But on exposure to sun, that color turns to a lavender. They are not available commercially. "Does anyone know if it could be a deficiency?" Zinnia buds and blooms can be seriously harmed by certain nutrient deficiencies. For the best results, use a soluble nutrient formula that contains a complete range of macronutrients and micronutrients. That includes the usual nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium as well as magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. Plants, including zinnias, also need quite a lot of calcium, which unfortunately is almost always absent from soluble nutrient formulas. Hydroponics growers almost always supply calcium as calcium nitrate to their plants. Garden soil usually contains some calcium, but not always enough for zinnias (or tomatoes). If you have previously added lime or gypsum to your garden soil, it should contain enough calcium. If I see calcium deficiency symptoms in my zinnias (and I do from time to time), I include some calcium nitrate in their foliar spray. Foliar feeding is a good way to make sure your zinnias get the nutrients they need. If I see boron deficiency symptoms, I add a little extra boron in the form of boric acid in my foliar spray. You have to be careful with boron, because it doesn't take a lot of it to reach a toxicity level. I also supply a little cobalt and nickel to my indoor zinnias, but there is usually enough of those in garden soil. And it is beneficial to supply soluble silicon to zinnias, to increase the strength of their cell walls, which makes for stronger stems and leaves, which contributes to disease resistance. Rice growers frequently supply soluble silicon in their fertilizer, because it is important for rice stems to be strong to keep the seedheads out of the water. It may seem counter-intuitive, but sand is not a way to supply silicon. I use a solution of potassium silicate to supply soluble silicon to my zinnias. ZM

Well, my first thought is that asking why you can't get Nikko to bloom on new growth is a lot like asking why you can't get your daughter to pee standing up. I have a couple of Nikkos but they're not reliable bloomers in zone 5. Are you in Michigan? Last year, in particular, we got snow and cold weather after the buds started to swell. Then they froze. End of bloom for the year. I do not winter protect beyond blowing about a foot of leaves on the plants in fall. If they don't all bloom every year, I can live with that. Your burlap/leaves overwintering sounds like it should work, especially if there are lots of leaves at the base of the plant protecting it. BUT in zone 5, I don't uncover until May 1 and I don't prune until June 1. I still may be in trouble because we had a frost warning Sunday night. I also have dead twigs to prune every year, out to the tips. But I think some "old wood" that produces blooms is at the base of the plant so pruning the tips doesn't rule out blooms. Wonder if the neighbor you envy has Annabelle. She greens up to the tips. If it's a big, healthy plant, you can get it to bloom sometimes, and you have room for a slacker it might be worth keeping. Just add some others that can pee standing up, like Endless Summer and All Summer Beauty.

These plants are not very water sensitive in Florida, but are incredibly susceptible to crown-rot, lower stem rot (not root rot but more like the rot yours shows), and sunburn. I grow mine outside until nighttime temps drop below 55 and then indoors on a south facing window. During the summer, as you know living in FL, mine gets that Florida rain 2-4 times a week. The leaves have not split and in fact the plant has some sun damage and is at times almost stone-like in texture, indicating it has been grown rather hard. After a long rain it is softer, but hardens up over the following day. However, sometimes standing water will accumulate in the crevice between leaves; my roommate pulled out the dead flowers from my plant last year (!!!) And combined with some standing water, this caused the new leaves in the central stem of my plant to dry up and die. However, it has sent up a side shoot that is actively growing. I think the key is the Florida heat and high UV levels, and the fact that my soil is 20%grit, 40%perlite, and 50% coconut coir. I learned that coir is especially important in FL because it keeps a high oxygen to water ratio in the root zone, which prevents waterlogged and anoxic roots. I think this and the heat keep this mesemb slowly growing throughout the summer, which helps prevent rot from over-watering. My Fenestraria grows the same way, but if I put it outside too soon and it rains too frequently, many of its leaves will rot in a similar manner to your split rock, from the lower stem but not the roots. But when temperatures reach 80-90, it starts shooting out tons of new growth, even as old growth rots. tl;dr - pot up your replacement in a mix of grit, perlite, and coir, and put it outside for some heat during the summer. It may survive the rain, but it may be better to leave it on a screened-in porch if you are concerned about losing a stem to crown rot

Towandaaz: Looks like you have about the same amount of growth as I have. You've got some nice basals coming in. Our last frost date is May 8...aaaannddd...we are supposed to get snow this weekend! That's going to wreck havoc in the garden. Everything started leafing out in February. All the fruit trees bloomed a month ago. The garden looked like this yesterday, but I'm afraid what will happen this weekend. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see like rabainsz7bpnw says. Let me know how your Geoff Hamilton does. I've appreciated the photos of this rose for a long time, but heard that it is a stingy bloomer. Altorama: The soil seemed to be pretty moist when I checked it. The drip lines are running fine. The roses under the maple seemed to be doing the best.