how are everyone's zinnias doing?
Before the growing season began, I remember people got excited when they found out zinnias are butterfly magnets.
They also attract gold finches. Bonus!
'Giant Wine'
Can't really capture its glorious velvet texture or depth of color. Good year for magnificent blooms the size of softballs.
Did anyone give it a try?
Comments (31)
8 years agoI just have tons of Zinnias from 20 years or so of reseeding. Nothing as pretty or fancy as yours. The pollinators love them and the finches have already stripped a lot of them of the petals.
Related Discussions
How and where do you use zinnia and cosmos in your garden?
Comments (2)I direct sow zinnias beginning the first of May. There are swathes of space in my beds reserved for zinnias. I sow a group of 6 or 7 seeds every 12 inches or so in these areas. Use the watering can each morning. Thin to one plant every 12 inches. Nothing could be easier. Not planting zinnias too close to lawns (where morning dew can sometimes cause mildew) and making sure the plantings have a modicum of good air circulation are key. Also, never overhead water zinnias past the seedling stage. I favor the giant zinnias. Why waste time with those small varieties? A good companion for zinnias is mexican marigold, a bush type marigold with small yellow flowers & potato-leaf foliage that goes about 3 feet tall. Looks very nice interweaved with zinnias that don't have yellow flowers. Cosmos are pretty much just as easy, but while I have seeds, I really have other priorities at the moment. I may sow some soon though. Once it heats up is when you sow both cosmos & zinnias....See MoreHow long do Zinnia seeds remain viable in the soil or mulch?
Comments (5)Hi Highlander, "So, if they aren't coming up this year, how long will they last in or on the soil or mulch? Will the seeds dropped last year come up next year or in future years?" A very small percentage of zinnia seeds survive as "volunteers" the next Spring, but I wouldn't expect any of those seeds to make it to a second year. "That brings up question 1: How to prevent powdery mildew on zinnias?" A non-toxic way is frequent sprays of a product called GreenCure. It is basically potassium bicarbonate with a proprietary wetting agent. You have to spray it fairly frequently because it is water soluble and rains or even heavy dews can wash it off into the soil, where it acts as a source of potassium nutrition. I suspect it also foliar feeds some potassium. It is safe to use. It is better than using sodium bicarbonate. I breed zinnias as a hobby (see the "It can be fun to breed your own zinnias" message thread), and three years ago I found a tubular petaled mutant that I wanted to preserve as long as possible, providing pollen for crossing with other zinnias and developing seeds of its own. To prolong the life of that zinnia plant right up to our killing freeze, I applied Bayer All-in-One Rose and Flower Care as a drench applied about every two weeks, and it prevented Powdery Mildew and other foliage diseases on that zinnia specimen right up until it was killed by a hard freeze in late Fall. It is fairly expensive, so I don't use it routinely on my zinnias. But since it is systemic, it isn't washed off by rain and it spreads its protection to new growth, unlike surface sprays. It is not for organic gardeners, because it does contain "chemicals". I foliar feed my zinnias with Miracle-Gro products, and I am experimenting with adding some Physan 20 as a wetting agent and, since it is a bactericide and fungicide, among other things (some hospitals use it in their mop water), it may tend to prevent Powdery Mildew. This isn't the "season" for PM yet, so I won't know until this Fall if it can play a role in preventing PM and other diseases on my zinnias. But so far, so good. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)...See MoreOlivia Rose Austin - how's she doing for everyone?
Comments (70)Diane, I wonder, since Olivia is supposed to be small, if you couldn't move her to the shade where you wouldn't ordinarily plant a rose, like under a tree and see if her color isn't any better. The shade might also keep her smaller. You would have her spot for RR, and you wouldn't really have lost anything whether she lives or dies. The VS Hydrangeas are just blossoming. They're white and chartreuse right now. When I have a progression of the color change, I will post pics. I thought they would be the first to go in this heat. My big leafs are totally cooked, but these paniculatas are fine. I will probably have to move the Blue Enchantresses to total shade. The Endless Summer Originals are doing ok. My grandson cut them back to the lowest node because they fried, but they're coming back beautifully as long as I keep them floating in an over watered bed. I wish we knew if this year is typical of what to expect from now on, or if it is an anomaly. I'm still planting and feeding. I don't want a bunch of baby roses to keep over winter in the garage. Only about half of the rose garden got fed before the heat started, so I waited, but it's been steadily hot, so I'm giving them a light feeding before it's too late this year....See MoreHappy Easter everyone! How is everybody doing, and how are your trees?
Comments (7)Jan, glad you're doing well! I hear you about baking supplies... I'm glad I had huge pantry reserves when this craziness started. The trees are looking like they're as giddy about the prospect of going outside than I am to put them there, LOL! I'm very new to hydroponics. The Krakty method just seemed the easiest one to set up, no air pump or anything. I ordered 2 hexagonal planters from gogrowplanters. I got them from Amazon because I have prime, so shipping is quick and free. I called customer service on he gogrowplanters website, and the lady, Cindy, is absolutely phenomenal. She explained everything. Amy, I hear you! I feel like I'm sharing my house with 2 mutants, lol. Laura, great to hear from you! Yes, I've noticed you typically don't have as many high and lows in Annapolis than I do in Havre de Grace, although we're not even two hours apart. Ken, glad you're doing well. Your post brought back flashbacks of groundhog day, and you made me laugh out loud with the frost roulette, LOL ! Mike, it's so good to hear from you! I hope you feel better, and that your mom is ok! I know with absolute certainty that my trees would have been rotted dead 5 years ago, if it hadn't been for you, your UNWAVERING patience and all your kind advice. I'm very proud to consider you my friend. To each and every one of you, gimme pictures! Let us all live and travel vicariously though everyone else's pictures, LOL! Hopefully this won't last very much longer. It looks like they really want to open the country back up. Fingers crossed! God bless, Atheen PS: I got my Covid stimulus direct deposit yesterday. Make sure you check whatever bank account you have the IRS to wire your tax refund to the last 2 years, and if you never gave them one, make sure you go to https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus-tax-relief-and-economic-impact-payments and put your back account in there!...See More
8 years agoI always grow Zinnias as they are excellent cut flowers. The butterflies are attracted to my dahlias and the hummingbirds to black and blue Salvia. Zinnias ....not so much!
Here's a pink, I grow every year.
rob333 (zone 7b) thanked Summer
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAll beautiful!! This is the first year I didn't grow zinnias, or anything else. I hope to get back in the groove next year. I definitely miss zinnias. My favorites are Burpee's Big Tetra, Burpeeana Giants, Giant Cactus Flowered, and Benary's in various colors. Is your Giant Wine a Benary's, Rob? It's fabulous!
Here's one from a previous year.
8 years agoadellabedella: I don't think I'm far from you and, boy, do I hear ya! It got hot so early, I must've overwatered my newly planted zinnias and they almost succumbed to powdery mildew -- they looked just awful:
(I thought dead heading might give them a fighting chance.)
It took a couple of months, and the ones that didn't outright die are thriving. This is the plant from above, now:
The little yellow guy to the left will just have to play catch-up. :) Maybe next year will be better.
8 years agoMine have been growing well and butterflies are all over the blooms. I posted this one the other day.
- 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
In years past, I always grew zinnias.
My new house(closing Friday), has "no" landscaping. I'm ready to start anew!
Rob....the size of softballs?! HOW cool is that!
8 years ago- 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
Pom Pom Zinnia
Thanks CindyMac....zinnias are very photogenic. :0)
- 8 years ago
Here's a pic of my Aunt Elsie (on the left) with my mom (center) and a family friend at Elsie's beautiful flower garden, c. 1945. The zinnia variety she liked was Cut and Come Again, still available today.
- 8 years ago
- 8 years ago
8 years ago- 8 years ago
Ava,
'Purple Prince' looks like that in person. I know it says purple, but really, it's more on the dark pink side. Beat up, but here he is.
- 8 years ago
Phyllis and JoanE, I am so sorry for the loss of your daughters.
I grew some mixed petite zinnias this year. They have done well as have most all my flowers. This pic shows mostly the deep pink ones. The bugs have loved them too.
phyllis__mn