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

Several of the seeds others are having difficulty with need a period of cold stratification. I refer to the old Thompson & Morgan Germination Database for cold stratification requirements. I have had good results ws delphiniums in March with germination about a month or 6 wks later. They need 2 wk cold stratification. One variety last spring had only a small amount of germination so I planted them out and left the container hoping for more germination. During fall clean up I found the container had several new sprouts. This odd fall with a cold October (3 snows here) and a warm November probably fooled them into thinking they had a winter and spring. Too late to plant out so I put the whole container in the ground and hope some survive the winter. Anemone, helleborus, and some clematis and other seeds need W C W, warm cold warm, or two winters of ws to germinate. Others like clematis stans will germinate well with only one winter. Actaea racemosa (cimicifuga) is one that I have had good germination with when keeping the containers over two winters. Some of the larger seeds will rot if the mix is kept too wet. Those, lupine, morning glory, datura, sunflowers, often germinate well when direct sown here. Other times they just take their own sweet time, last spring I thought one container of morning glory seeds had rotted so later sowed tomato seed in the container. After a few weeks I had tomatoes and morning glories growing together. LOL Astilbe has also been difficult for me. Only had a few germinate with my own fresh seed. Here is a link that might be useful: T & M Germination Database

Nell, thanks for the info on the gerberas. I may try one more time when the memory of complete and utter failure isn't quite so fresh! I'm not prepared to give up on the butterfly bush yet. I do have one beauty out of the three I planted last year. I can't help but think that part of the problem was that I cut it back too late this year. I should have done that sooner I think. Maybe before the end of the year? It seems I read that cutting it back too early will cause problems--something about water getting in the hollow stems or something like that? Geeze. I should try to remember important stuff like thaT.

I think I may have to get some grape vines too! Your's look wonderful Don. ☺Successes Yes, deciding to join into the Farmer's market with Brenda, turned out to be great idea. I've met lots of new people and made some coin as well.....surely a win/win situation. Most of the plants made it through last winter, so that's always a plus. I think I only had one iris die, so that was pretty good. Most of the roses bloomed well. Whether the alfalfa tea that I gave them was the cause or not, I'm not sure, but I liked the end results either way.;0) The lilies bloomed really well this summer too. 'Red Dutch' and 'Fancy Crown' didn't do well this year. Fancy Crown just didn't come up at all, so I may have to replace it yet. Forever Blue iris bloomed in the beginning of September. The Pineapple Lily that I thought was rotten this spring and then just tossed into the veggie garden to be tilled under, I found growing in the peppers. So now, it's potted up and will grow happily in the living room for the winter. Got my first seeds from a Tet daylily 'Quest of Dreams'. And I also got a few seeds from Red Ribbons and a noid pink daylily too. I'm not sure why Tets are harder to set pods on, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more next year. Failures Dahlia barely got blooming before frost. And the cannas never did bloom at all. The veggie garden didn't do overly well at all. I think that the poplars and spruce that we planted on the east side, are taking too much of the water and shading it for too long in the morning. So next spring, it will be time to re-evaluate where things will be going. There were quite a few daylilies that had spring sickness, and for some it extended into the summer as well. There are maybe 3 or 4 that I'm not sure if they will make it through the winter or not. Keeping my fingers crossed on those. So therefore, the amount of daylily blooms was a bit disappointing. Cabbage worms did a number on my ornamental cabbages....grrrr. All in all, it was a successful year for me in the garden. I added quite a few new perennials this year, so I'm quite excited to see how well they all do next year.☺