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christie_sw_mo

Zero to Zinnia in one month

christie_sw_mo
11 years ago

It's amazing how fast zinnias go from seed to flower. I planted Scarlet Flame and Zowie again this year and both had their first bloom in about a month. Not All of them were blooming within a month, just a couple, but in the last week, a bunch more flowers have opened up.

I started planting seeds around the 6th of June and now about 3/4 of the plants have one flower each and lots of buds.

I planted more than 150 zinnia seeds plus had several volunteers from last year. The ones on the left were planted a week or two later than the others and need to catch up. I tried to space them about a foot apart.

This was taken on June 21st about two weeks after I started planting seeds.

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July 3rd

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July 9th

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Closer up - July 13th yesterday.

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Comments (15)

  • docmom_gw
    11 years ago

    I'm curious. When you've planted seeds directly, how often do you water to keep the soil moist enough for good germination? And how deeply do you plant zinnia seeds? I've always winter sown them and then planted them out once the weather is warm enough, or once I have a bed ready for them, LOL. But, I'm planning on direct sowing lots of zinnias in the future, and I want to know how to get the best results.

    Martha

  • imabirdnut
    11 years ago

    Christie...they look awesome!!!
    I have tons of Scarlet Flame Zinnias but have wanted to plant Swizzle Gold & Red but haven't known where to get the seeds...did you buy them or were they from a trade or swap???
    I bought 2 packs of seeds over 3 years ago & haven't bought any since! I save seeds every year & just replant the them in the spring!
    The zinnias as well as tithonia are the most popular annual nectar plants in my BF beds right now!!!
    {{gwi:504612}}
    I have better luck directly sowing zinnia seeds too...I've tried & tried to put them in flats but they don't seem to sprout well...direct sowing seems to be the best here as well!
    Martha, I plant my seeds about 1/4" deep & sometimes I just barely cover them & both do great! I water about 3-4 X a week if I'm watering by hand. I have a well & an irrigation system that runs about 4-5 X/week that covers most of my BF beds.
    Thanks for sharing, Christie!

  • christie_sw_mo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Beautiful Imabirdnut! So many flowers! I ordered my Zowie Yellow Flame seeds from Swallowtail Seeds in their bulk section. I got 100 and planted some last year and some this year. They're expensive for zinnia seeds. I wasn't able to collect many last year but will try again this year. I haven't tried any Swizzle seeds.

    We had several triple digit days in June and almost no rain so I was watering every morning and now watering about every other day because July has been dry as well. The shrubs behind the zinnias are robbing some of the moisture.

    I put about 1/4 inch of soil over my seeds.
    I've had very good luck this year, almost 100% germination and virtually every seedling has survived but last year my little seedlings were disappearing daily and I lost well over half, maybe 75% of what I sowed. I'm pretty sure it was a rabbit but slugs will eat seedlings too.
    I think they may grow faster if direct sown but they're vulnerable to critters for awhile. If you have plenty of seeds, try some both ways and see what does best. I usually direct sow. This is the first year that I did both but I didn't keep track of which is which, except that I know the smallest ones on the left that aren't blooming yet were sown in a container - but they were sown later than the others so that may account for their smaller size. Those are from the seeds I collected myself last summer from Zowie so I'm anxious for them to bloom.

  • susanlynne48
    11 years ago

    I just direct sow my Zinnias, too. Once the soil is warm (really warm), they pop up from the soil very quickly. I've also learned that Zinnias like a good soil. They'll do okay in a poor soil, but they won't "thrive" in it and they get ratty looking quickly. I fertilize mine.

    This year I planted Cut & Come Again and Whirligig. I purchased my seeds from Hazzard Seeds. They are a wholesale company that sells retail as well. I got 1,000 Cut & Come Again seeds for $4.35. The newer cultivars are more expensive, but a lot of the older varieties are great for butterflies, too. Hazzard has pages and pages of Zinnia listings, too. Check them out at the link below.

    I also get my Asclepias physocarpa there at a better price than anywhere else. Hazzard seeds are excellent with high germination rates, too. Thanks, Sandy, for turning me onto them.

    Christie, they have Scarlet Flame and Zowie, too. Of course, the Zowie is a bit higher priced.

    Susan

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hazzard Seeds

  • wifey2mikey
    11 years ago

    Susan, thank you for the link. I have saved it in my favorites as well as signed up for their email specials etc. This is the first time in a long time that I've planted zinnias. I just bought the profusion ones that I could find at the nurseries and they are growing leaps and bounds are beautiful, but not attracting much at all. I will definitely order some seeds here for next year!

    ~Laura

  • susanlynne48
    11 years ago

    You're welcome, Laura! I have the best luck with their seeds, too. Sandy is the one that recommended them to me.

    Susan

  • susanlynne48
    11 years ago

    I meant to add that I have planted the red/white Swizzle Zinnias before, and they didn't get much action. I should have planted them for a couple of successive years, though, because that would be a "true" test of their attractiveness to butterflies. Some years, the butterflies prefer one hybrid over another so it's difficult to say that one is more alluring than another.

    The same goes for the Profusion series. I have seen them highly utilized in folks gardens and in parks. I would imagine that the single flowering varieties might be more appealing - better landing pads and access to nectar. But I've been informed that doubles attract just as well, so I'm obviously no authority.

    If you really want to know about the cultivation of Zinnias, check out the Annuals Forum. There's a fellow there who goes by the moniker "Zenman", who really knows a lot about growing them and is very helpful. He's also created some really beautiful hybrids.

    Susan

  • christie_sw_mo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Zenman IS an expert.
    I'm starting to see just a few brown leaves down low on my zinnias. Scarlet Flame seems to be handling the record heat, drought, and my poor infertile soil slightly better than Zowie. I'm having to water pretty often since it's so dry and it's quicker for me to water overhead which makes them more prone to fungal diseases. EVERYTHING in my yard is needing water this summer so there's no time to do it right. I'm just trying to keep things alive.

    I'm not a good guesser. I said about 3/4 of the plants had a bloom by July 14th but I counted later and there were only 50. There are about 175-180 plants counting the volunteers so that definitely wasn't 3/4. It was less than 1/3. There are a lot more blooming now.

    When I went outside just now, there were about a dozen butterflies; Variegated, Great Spangled and Gulf Frits, one Spicebush Swallowtail, a Black Swallowtail, a Silver Spotted Skipper and a sulfur of some sort. I have a lot of Buckeyes but they're partial to verbena b and ignore the zinnias. Variegated Frits like both.

    I took this photo kind of early this morning and there weren't many butterflies out and about yet.

  • mostone
    11 years ago

    Pretty - I love zinnias.

  • susanlynne48
    11 years ago

    Christie, you grow such beautiful Zinnias! I need to plant more seeds, I just have to figure out where! LOL!

    Zenman has some gorgeous hybrids, doesn't he?

    You're so lucky to get the Great Spangled. I only see Gulf Frits and Variegated Frits, and both are really in the Longwing family, not the Fritillary, I believe. I have lots of Gulf Frits right now - 3 females laying eggs on my Passis. I haven't had as many Silver Spotted Skippers this year, and I love them. I think they used my neighbor's Wisteria as a larval host, and he had his cut way back this year so he had no flowers or foliage for a very long time. I wonder if this is why they didn't show up this year as usual.

    Anyway, your Zinnies are lovely, as always, Christie!

    Susan

  • MissSherry
    11 years ago

    Christie, you're the zinnia pro around here! They're just gorgeous!!

    Sherry

  • imabirdnut
    11 years ago

    OK...I'm totally jealous!!!
    I'm wondering if at the end of summer after your beautiful Zowie Zinnias stop blooming...if you would be willing to share some seeds with us if we send you a SASBE??? PLEASE???
    They are amazing!
    Lila

  • christie_sw_mo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I'll be glad to Lila but I'll warn you, I didn't have very good luck trying to collect seed last year so I may not get a lot. The birds go after them. Last summer I brought some in before the flowers were actually dry and just let them dry in the house. It may have been Zenman that said you can do that. It seems to have worked. We should plan on doing a trade this fall. I may have some others that you'll want too.
    I'm not a zinnia pro at all. I think I just got lucky and found a couple that tolerate my poor soil and neglect.

  • imabirdnut
    11 years ago

    Christie...that's what I do...I cut them off when they start to wither & then put them in either a brown paper bag or open container in my hot garage & let them finish drying! What kind of birds eat you zinnia seeds???
    I had purchased a few Swizzle zinnias thinking they were the ones that were so attractive to the BFs but now that I see your Zowies... I realize they are the ones I want to grow! I love the Scarlet Flames & am growing them as well as White Profusion. I like the white & that they are smaller but the BFs seem to prefer the tall red here in my yard! ;o)
    I have a pretty long GW trade list & will have some new things this year as well & would love to trade! That would be awesome!
    Thanks!
    Lila

  • dssguy99
    10 years ago

    Hi Christy,

    I just came across this. Im wondering if you followed any spacing guide when planting them. Im trying to achieve that same filling in effect. Were those about 6" apart?