Hi Heather, " I like that first flower more than the second, its more scruffy-lookin, like hair that's cutely messy as opposed to straightened and boringly perfect. " It is my choice too, for the same reason that you expressed. One of the things that I dislike about many commercial zinnias is that their petals lie so close together, like shingles on a roof. It just looks too formal, and the closely lying petals provide a hiding place for bad insects, like aphids or thrips. I am also going for new zinnia flower forms, like this "Razzle Dazzle" type. That is one of my currently blooming indoor specimens, and it is about 20% larger than my previous specimens of that type. They still need much more size increase, and I am working toward that goal. " How long can zinnia seedlings stay in little pots (they have a cross sectional area about the size of my palm) until they need to be put somewhere more permanent? " They can stay in little pots up until blooming time, but that is not good for them. As soon as they become root-bound, they need to be repotted. If you have clear pots like I use, you can see the roots start to crowd the side of the pot. If your pot is opaque, you can use this criterion: In the open ground a zinnias root system is at least as extensive as its top development. So if the visible part of your zinnia plant is significantly larger than the pot, it will appreciate being repotted. " And can zinnias grow in mild winter? Is it just frost that kills them, or would the lack of sunlight and cooler temperatures spell disaster? " It is not just frost that kills zinnias in the Fall. Cooler temperatures and shorter days cause zinnias to lose their vigor and become susceptible to Powdery Mildew and other foliage diseases. Sometimes disease effectively kills them before a frost. I spray my high value breeders with a systemic fungicide in the Fall, but just allow the others to succumb. After I harvest their green seeds or brown seeds I just pull up the plant and send it to the landfill. I don't compost zinnias, because that seems to spread disease. " I'm wondering whether I should stick these in the garden or take them indoors. Although, now that I think about it, zinnias do grow quickly so I might actually be done with them before winter even comes. " Yes. Wait and see. However, bringing a zinnia indoors from outdoors runs the risk of bringing one or more pests indoors with it, where in the absence of natural enemies, their population can explode. Good luck. And pictures are welcome. ZM

Hi Squishy, "When the seedlings come up how will I tell the difference between them and any weeds that grow?" This is a picture of a couple of zinnia seedlings just after they have emerged. If you look closely, you can see a few very tiny weed seedlings, as well. This next picture shows a row of young zinnias that have gotten their first pair of true leaves. Some tiny weed seedlings are also just visible. Since I cull my zinnias heavily (I am trying to improve them), I plant them much closer together than is recommended, because I know I am going to remove a lot of zinnia plants at first bloom. The picture below shows a row of zinnia seedlings with some weeds present. Can you pick out the zinnias? It can be a little tricky telling a zinnia seedling from a weed. The zinnias have two cotyledons (seed leaves), but so does about half of the plant kingdom. That is why it is a good idea to plant your zinnia seeds in a straight line. That way the zinnia seedlings will be on a straight line among the weeds, which will be somewhat randomly spaced. That will help you distinguish which are the zinnias and which are the weeds. "Also how much space will the full grown zinnia plant need? I have a small garden. " That depends entirely on the variety of zinnia. Thumbelinas and Zinnitas only grow about 6 or 7 inches tall, so each plant could need a comparable amount of space. Benary's Giants grow 4 feet tall and would need 2 to 4 feet of space, depending on whether you wanted to crowd them or not. Some cactus flowered zinnias can grow to 6 feet tall if they are a bit crowded. so you might want to give them 3 feet or more of space. Zinnias will tolerate quite a bit of crowding, but they then get into a height race with each other, competing and reaching for sunshine. "If I run out of space, is it possible to grow zinnias in pots? " Yes, with adequate pot size and a good potting mix. A single Thumbelina plant or Zinnita plant might do well in a 5-inch or a 6-inch pot. Large zinnia varieties would need a much larger pot per plant. Zinnias resent becoming root bound, and they develop large root systems in open ground that are as big or bigger than their mature above-ground bushes. Their pot volume should be comparable to their bush volume. "My garden likes to produce weeds at a colossal rate " So does mine. Declare war on your weeds with a good sharp hoe and a companion hand hoe. And pull weeds that are too close to your good plants. If they are really close, you can snip them at ground level with scissors or a hand pruner to avoid upsetting the root system of the crowded zinnia. ZM

My seed source for the zinderellas was Swallowtail seeds. Many of the first blooms were singles and initially I thought it might be a problem with the seed source. However I doubt that is the case now with what I have read online. I planted a whole bunch more July 7 when I thought I wouldn't have enough good ones but those are just starting to bloom now. I have found many misshapen flowers, often on the same plant as perfect blossoms, any reason why that might be?This plant had perfect blooms earlier though may also have had misshapen blooms initially. Your scabiosa zinnias are stunning but since I can't grow those I will try more zinderellas next year as well as another type or two of scabiosa zinnias, maybe a mix. Plus, I will likely some of the seeds I save. The camera does not do the labyrinth dahlia justice. Some flowers have more yellow.labyrinth dahlia -horizontal version I suggest for true inspiration you grow one. The color just about glows and is truly luscious. I wouldn't have grown it except my husband brought it home one day because the photo on the package looked "pink." If you get anywhere remotely close to it with a zinnia you will have a winner for sure. Of course you have many winners already and I, along with many others I'm sure, look forward to seeing the results of your new goals. I agree with you on the skimpy pots. My wedding flower project got a bit out of hand in regards to scale. Without enough ground prepared and concerns about protection from deer and bad weather I planted a lot in pots. After running out of my second huge batch of soil mix, not all plants got equal opportunity as far as pot size. I hadn't grown many dahlias before and many of the tubers were very very small so I made do and hoped something would turn out. Everything seemed to do ok even though they might have done even better in bigger pots. Next year the dahlias will get bigger pots and more garden space maybe too. Here is a pretty weird OK salmon. It basically grew a second flower out the top of the center of the first flower. Helene

CeeKay - Alex, can you let the cuttings stay in the Klone King until the roots are really well developed (say 2 inches or so)? Absolutely. Actually, you want the roots to be pretty well growing (I waited for at least 3 different 1+ inch roots) before you try to transplant or it may not make the transition to potting soil. I lost some things, I believe because I jumped the gun. I didn't buy any, but there's also a special liquid nutrient that is offered for cloning, so the cuttings are getting fed at the same time. I mostly don't see this as necessary unless you were leaving something in the machine for months. I did buy some rooting hormone gel which is made specifically for the clone machines. I had some regular powdered stuff - RootTone, I think it was, but it was old, and when those yellow roses I mentioned just wouldn't root for me, and I was getting antsy to shut the thing down for the end of season, I bought it and that seemed to do the trick. The three cuttings had callused, and eventually probably would have rooted, but that sped them up, thankfully. My other two roses, as mentioned, only took a week to root as opposed to the several weeks the yellow rose took. As for your antique moss rose, I feel pretty confident that you could get successful green cuttings come Spring, using the Klone King or one of the other cloning machines. I can't say whether any of the other machines are any better, but I will say that if you see one with a dome, avoid it. After reading the material, I am in agreement that too much heat would be generated under it because of the heat from the water pump and being under lights. I think, reading that, was what settled me on the Klone King - intuition spoke to me. :) Use some rooting hormone from the beginning, though, to give things the extra edge. I was cocky and thought I wouldn't need it. Another blow to my gardening ego. Sigh. Oh, and there are different sizes - some have only 12 slots for cuttings, I think. I was "in the mode" at the time, and John said: "Go for it!", so I bought the one with 36 slots. Nice, but possibly unnecessary. Wish I'd been "in the mode" about 3 months earlier, though, when I first saw the thing advertised, because by the time I bought it, the price had upped about $25! We're also predicted to get first frost here in the morning. It's been a long season - longest I remember in ages. I have things I need to do outside still, but they are for after the annuals die, so I've been puttering around, twiddling my thumbs waiting. Am not anxious for winter, but am anxious for shutting the garden down for the season, so I can concentrate on other things. Alex, you mentioned a greenhouse- do you ever grow zinnias there? Lucky ZenMan having that sweet setup to grow zinnias in his basement. No, my greenhouse, which is about 8 x 18 ft up against the south side of the house, is not heated. Perennials can overwinter, and many annuals can handle the cold by the time May rolls around and outside temps aren't going into deep freeze for extended periods. As for ZM's basement setup, he'll be the first to tell you that you can have an indoor setup, too with just a shelf or two - or more - and a 4 ft utility light suspended over it. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. You don't have to have temperature controlled germination shelves (sniff), or even high intensity grow lights, etc, etc. My set up is pretty simple, though it's bigger now than it used to be. I have space for 12 flats that are about 16" x 23" and only 6" high. These will hold about 14 6-cell seed starters or 35 (more or less) styrofoam cups which I use instead of plastic pots for various reasons. You could set up a single shelf with one 4 ft light that would handle the equivalent of 2 of these flats worth of plants. That's still alot of plants. And if you wanted to grow some zinnias indoors, you could simply elevate your trays with books or boxes underneath, removing them as the plants grow taller. You getting me? Think I've talked enough. Whew. Alex