If only I'd seen this thread before I sowed direct earlier this year
Germination success was (predictably, I now know!) moderate but I'm getting some welcome late summer colour now.
Gorgeous! Unfortunately I had to plant mine in a trough as my dog crashes through some parts of the garden in his quest for cats, squirrels etc, and my garden was full to the brim at planting time in the designated Boris-free zone. I'm hoping to plant some out next year in those beds.
I have a bunch of green low fence panels from the dollar store (poundland). They aren't strong, but hooked together they keep the dog out of the freshly sowed zinnia bed and then keep the plants from flopping over onto the grass once they grow.
I have a bunch of green low fence panels from the dollar store (poundland). They aren't strong, but hooked together they keep the dog out of the freshly sowed zinnia bed and then keep the plants from flopping over onto the grass once they grow.
Unfortunately Boris is a bit of a Houdini. He was a rescue dog, a stray, and if he wants to get somewhere, he will 🙂
I read (Sarah Raven?) that they weren't easy to grow so I cossetted mine. I started them off indoors one seed per pot (3 out of 5 germinated). They have mostly have done really well apart from the one plant I out out the front (much poorer soil, less depth (mysterious concrete plinth about 8 iunches down) less sunshinebecause north facing, and shade) which has only produced one flower, like yours. The ones out the back were in manured soil, south east facing but quite a sunny border. They have not been watered more than once. Big plants and masses of flowers. I grew the Queeny lime red and orange ones. I only have close up pics... I love the complexity of the flowers - almost like flowers within flowers - and how they change. I shall definitely grow again.
I grew Zinnias for the first time this year, also with varying degrees of success. I've got a couple of flowers out of them, but a few seem to have been perfectly happy one day, a bud formed and ready to open, then the next day the top of the plant has literally done a U-turn and the bud is facing the floor and the plant all shrivelled. I don't think I like them enough to persevere next year.
I bought one young Zinnia from a garden centre and just put it in a pot with other bits and bobs. Never grown one before so I just let it be. A weekly feed of tomato food and it’s been flowering since end of June. Apologies for sideways pic - it’s the correct way round in my album !
Posts
Germination success was (predictably, I now know!) moderate but I'm getting some welcome late summer colour now.
Unfortunately I had to plant mine in a trough as my dog crashes through some parts of the garden in his quest for cats, squirrels etc, and my garden was full to the brim at planting time in the designated Boris-free zone. I'm hoping to plant some out next year in those beds.
I grew the Queeny lime red and orange ones. I only have close up pics... I love the complexity of the flowers - almost like flowers within flowers - and how they change. I shall definitely grow again.