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Post by gianna on Aug 24, 2021 21:52:38 GMT -5
gianna, I’ve been wondering where you disappeared to. Glad to see that you’re still in the zinnia patch. Yes, still in the Zinnia patch, and other parts of the garden. As for disappearing, sometimes I'm chatty, other times, less so. This past summer I grew some zinnias in 15 gallon containers. Just pulled them out a couple weeks ago. To the aim of not letting the soil get bone dry and resistant to watering, I've been turning the hose into them occasionally. Today I noticed a good number of zinnia seedlings growing in the pots. Again, a good number of varieties had been planted out there, so no clue what's coming up. Guess I'll see in a couple months. One rogue seedling has been growing for some time, and it is now blooming. It appears to be a nice Oklahoma type, salmon color. Very pretty. Seed originally from Johnny's.
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Post by raphanus on Aug 28, 2021 16:44:03 GMT -5
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 28, 2021 17:27:20 GMT -5
A couple years ago I never would have considered using precious garden real estate for non-edible plants I know I'm repeating myself but I always say flowers are food for the soul. Yours are gorgeous raphanus!
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Post by gianna on Sept 23, 2021 13:47:37 GMT -5
This past summer I had about a dozen 15 gallon nursury pots in which I was growing several varieties of zinnias. When they looked peaked, I removed them, but kept watering the pots so the soil would not get bone-dry and repel water (no summer rain here). And low and behold, lots of zinnia seedlings have come up. I have no clue what they'll be, if they've hybridized or not. The new plants appear healthy, and many are in bud. I've seen people mention zinnias reseeding themselves, but in the past, here the birds would get all the seed. But they seem to have missed the ones in the pots. How cool!
Also pertaining to zinnias, I started renewing a bed for flowers in the front. Eventually I'll put Iceland poppies there, but I wanted to plant a covercrop to help re-establish the bed. I previously had started a lot of zinnia seeds, both purchased, and self-collected from the summer. And in a 'what the heck' moment, I decided these flowers would be the cover crop for that bed. I didn't keep very good track of which seedlings were which, so it's fun watching what is starting to bloom. Thus far a couple peach Zinderellas, a white Polar bear, some Dahlia flowered Zinnias from Johnny's, a dark red Benary's Giant (love these), some Floret's Little Flower Girl (underwhelming), and who knows what else.
The later season Oklahoma's I planted are very lush and blooming profusely now. I've picked some but have left most just to bloom. They are mostly extreme doubles, and extremely bright colors. Very clean reds and yellows, and more. I realize I prefer the less showy semi doubles, and more muted colors so I might not choose to grow these again. They sure have done well, however. The plants are also getting a touch of powdery mildew after the foggy mornings, so they may not last much longer.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 23, 2021 16:26:46 GMT -5
I grew zinnias for the first time this season - just some free yellow ones I got from two orders from Baker Creek seeds. I only trimmed them when the blossoms were getting old, and the branches when they were overgrowing the peppers. I had a powdery mildew problem later in the season, due to the horrible humidity and rain. I sprayed some potassium bicarbonate solution, which I guess kept it manageable, but I haven't been able to use the oil/bicarbonate combo, which usually works much better as a fungicide, due to the heat! So tomorrow I am going out early, and spraying those, the okra, and what tomatoes I have left, with the combo - good weather is in the forecast, finally! Are any varieties known to be more resistant to PM - like some of the hybrids, as with veggies? I'm new to these, since I can't eat them (I don't think?).
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Post by binnylou on Sept 23, 2021 16:39:40 GMT -5
I’m wishing I had planted the zinnia seed purchased this year…and previous years. My garden is missing the color that the zinnias usually provide.
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 24, 2021 4:51:37 GMT -5
The saved seed ones I plant get very tall, near 4'! And the colors are all haphazard. What I labeled as red turned out to be pink. Green turns out to be orange, probably all due to the hybrid factor. I may get new seed for next year and go for shorter ones.
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Post by gianna on Sept 24, 2021 10:02:26 GMT -5
Are any varieties known to be more resistant to PM - like some of the hybrids, as with veggies? Variety Oklahoma is said to be somewhat PM resistant, but mine growing now are developing it. The variety Forecast, sold by Burpees, is also reported to be PM resistant. I have them growing across the path from one another, and the Forecast has virtually no mildew. It's been foggy most mornings for the past few weeks, so this would be a good test. Forecast flowers however are mostly singles, and the plants are taller (to 4 ft) and a bit rank in growth. I've purchased new seed from Burpees twice, and their seed is not pure - in the sense that there are non Forecast seeds in the packet too. And they are on the expensive side IMO -about $7 for 50 seeds. Others in the comments report 'impure' seeds too. But I love the more muted colors. Home-saved seeds are quite variable. www.burpee.com/zinnia-forecast-prod500078.htmlBenary's Giant, the favorite of many flower farmers, is said to be disease resistant, but who knows what that means. Their Deep Red is gorgeous. There may be other PM resistant varieties out there too. I may get new seed for next year and go for shorter ones. The Oklahoma, before it got foggy here and showed mildew, was a pleasant surprise. The plants are lower (about 2 feet) and dense, and very robust green, rounded plants. No fertilzer was used but the soil is good. Tne flowers (about 2 inches across) are very, very double. And the colors are very bright and clean (yellow, gold/orange, red, salmon, and 'purple' - the mix also supposed to have pink and white, but more reds and yellows than others) . It seems a fairly common variety that a number of sellers seem to carry. www.johnnyseeds.com/flowers/zinnias/oklahoma-formula-mix-improved-zinnia-seed-1747.html?cgid=zinnias#start=1
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Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 25, 2021 0:10:36 GMT -5
Thanks gianna. I have a store near me that sells Burpee seeds 40-50% off all the time, so I'll check them out! I sprayed my plants this morning, with the neem oil/potassium bicarbonate solution - I'll see it that helps.
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Post by gianna on Nov 15, 2021 14:25:35 GMT -5
I. Want. These. www.johnnyseeds.com/flowers/zinnias/queen-lime-peach-zinnia-seed-4323.html?cgid=zinnias#start=1Unfortunately not available till next April. I grew Queen Lime Orange this year. It was a favorite and I re-ordered more. I hope this Queen Lime Peach is half as nice. Florets has a Zinnia of similar color (Golden Hour) that I would have ordered but it's not available till January. They tend to be more expensive, and from what I've seen, their house-developed varieties are not very stable. So I think I'll wait for the new Lime Peach.
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