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trac2

zinnias

trac2
15 years ago

hoping to get some advice from all you sage wsers in zone 2,3,4 never grown zinnias but wanting to try. When is the best time to ws them? An update, so far, have approx 140 jugs in the snow.I'm excited and a little ambivalent don't know where I'm going to put them!But by the look outside I still have a good mo before all the snow clears.

Comments (3)

  • Crazy_Gardener
    15 years ago

    I don't w/s zinnias, tomatoes, cosmos and other tenders, they are too tender for my zone, any bit of frost and they will die. I prefer to start them indoors and then transfer into the greenhouse later on.

    However, if you want to try them, you might have better luck in your area, you can spring sow them as close as possible to your last frost date in your area.

    Sharon

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    15 years ago

    I've WSed zinnias - if i remember right, i didn't have great germination with them. I start the more tender things in mid to late April, and if frost threatens after they germinate, i put them into my cold frame and cover it with a blanket.

    Good luck and let us know!

  • oilpainter
    15 years ago

    I had cold frames before I had my greenhouse and I used to grow all sorts of annuals in them including zinnias. Right in the soil of my cold frames which were set in my flower beds. Here is the easiest.

    3 or 4 lengths of wire--I used straightened cleaners hangers--the heavy ones and bent them into hoops. Don't make them too tall. They only need to be about 1 to 1 1/2 feet off the ground.

    A length of heavy-but soft easily gathered plastic big enough + a lot extra--explained below. and

    2 poles or something you can staple the plastic to

    Put your wire hoops in the groud

    Lay out the plastic and staple the long ends to the poles. Put it over the hoops and gather the short enda about 2 feet away from the hoops and secure with a stone or brick.
    Now you can roll up the plastic on warm days or secure just one end with a couple of clothespins on days not so nice. Check every day because even on a cloudy day heat can build up in there. I closed them up around 4 to let some heat build up for the night. On really cold nights I covered with a blanket.

    When you transplant later. Dig your hole fill with water and let it sink into the ground. Dig your plant out, put it in the hole and cover it in. Then cover with an upside down flower pot and leave for 2 days. When you take the pot off you will find the moisture has been drawn up and the plant will be standing straight and healthy.

    I also use clear liter pop bottles for some plants like Laveteria. I cut out the bottom. Put it where I want them to grow for a couple of weeks to warm the soil. Then plant 3 seeds, which I will thin to one and transplant the others, and put the bottle back over the seeds and remove the cap. On really cold nights I put the cap back on in early evening.
    You have to watch with both these because the heat will dry the soil

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