Growing Giant Zins

Top Ten Tips for Growing Beautiful Zinnias!    

 Zinnias That Zing!

(Pronounced "ZIN-yas!" please!)

7/30/98 --

1. Before planting, store seeds in a cool (32-50°), dry location. If you forget to plant the seeds you buy the first season, you can plant them the next season, but remember: germination rates decrease by 10-15% each year. Van Dyke Zinnias sells only the seed harvested during the most recent growing season. We are a small farm; and so, seed sales turnover much of the stock each season; therefore, germination rates should approach 95% or better.  We also "cherry-pick" the best seed stock from northern growers to grow and offer a variety of hardy zinnia types.  We strive for "big zins" or small ones that are especially beautiful.  
2. Plant in a sunny location in well drained soil after the last spring frost. Do not plant in areas that ever have standing water. A minimum of six hours of sun is a must for nice blossoms. Full sun all day is best.
3. Plant seeds where you want them to grow. Plants grown from seed tend to be larger and stronger than transplants. Transplants are ok for "instant color."  But Zinnias do not like to have their "feet moved," so follow precisely our instructions for transplanting if you select this route.
4. Work up the ground before planting to a depth of 6-8 inches to allow for good root development and stronger plants. Do NOT leave out this step! Mix well-rotted cow manure into the beds both in spring and fall for an optimally rich mixture. If you have access to wood ash (a rich source of phosphorous and potassium) or ash from a wood burner, mix it throughout the beds during the year when the soil is at rest, as the zinnias seem to like this composition best.   Try it one season and you will be a believer!
5. Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep and keep soil moist. If no rain falls, water every day until seeds germinate, then every other day until plants are four inches tall.
6. Watering techniques. When plants reach four inches, begin watering at the base of the plant, limiting the amount of water that gets on the foliage. This helps to prevent mildew and rust. IF the problem persists, call us for information on how to order products to rid your plants of pests and disease naturally.
7. Weeding is important. Keep beds weed free! After weeding, apply a light mulch around (but not touching) the plants.
8. Thin or thick? Thin for taller zinnias. Thin plants to 4-6 inches apart. For bushy plants with larger blossoms, thin to 8-12 inches apart. If you plant them closer together, you'll minimize weeding, and the stalks will help hold each flower up, even in strong wind. But if it's quality plants you want, thin them as described above.
9. Fertilizing is key. Get your soil tested at your local agriculture extension office and apply fertilizer as recommended. Organic fertilizers are best, especially compost and rotted (aged) manure. Zinnias like soil that is slightly alkaline. Always apply liquid fertilizer at ground level. The leaves are sensitive to liquid fertilizer.
10. Blooms and more blooms! Keep spent blossoms cut and your zinnias will continue to bloom all summer long! Zinnias make excellent cut flowers. Cutting a bouquet a couple times a week brings color inside to brighten any room. Doing this will be good for the remaining plants, as they will not have to compete as vigorously for resources. Zinnia bouquets are particularly lovely when arranged with blue Bachelor Buttons, tiny white daisies, and miniature Sunflowers! Cut long stems for more elegant or striking arrangements. "Mama Mia! Thatsa SPICEY Bouquet!"

These tips have been established from our own success growing beautiful Van Dyke Zinnias for over a decade. We hope you will enjoy equally good fortune and beauty from your zinnias! For variety, order the Cut Flower Mixture on the Specialty Mixes product page! 

Customer Tips for Growing Beautiful Zinnias!  

This tip came in over the garden wall from Bob Slicker of Florida!  Great discovery, Bob!  And Thanks! 

Hey Sharon, busy?  Must be, I still haven't received my order.    I have a method of multiplying the blooms, almost unbelievably.  Instead of one main stalk, you end up with many, more than eight main stalks on one of my plants.  Each one branching with blooms just like a main stalk.  I discovered the process accidentally.  When the plant is young, bend the stalk over, including the roots.  Place more soil on the root ball and mound the soil up.  The plant will run along the ground and put up stalks, just as if they were branches, and these stalks will branch, and instead of topping out at 32", it will continue running and putting up more stalks.  I had a candle bush that ran along the ground for 21 feet and looked like a hedge.  I will explain more precisely with the pictures.  Bob

HERE'S MORE ON THAT FROM BOB A FEW WEEKS LATER:

Hello, Sharon.  The attached pictures are from my Z's.  There are several of the huge one, one of the single one, and one of the one I sort of bent over down the line,  one died, and they are all within eight inches of each other.  They were the only little ones that grew.  I did not saturate the area with seeds.  My garden is twenty percent of last year's, due to watering expenses.  The shot glass vase was the only thing that would work for those tiny ones.  On my big bendover, the stems are short, that is why I needed the shot glass.  I assume on that variety, they are all shorter.  Prior to this bunch of blooms, I had already cut over 40 blooms from one seed. Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of room to bend over all my plants.  They spread too far.  I tried it with the big ones.  I do not have enough room with this bloom session.  If these Z's ever die, I will space the seeds two feet apart for the next batch and bend them all over.  Bob

Sharon, the one plant that I bent over and continued bending over, is beginning to crossover itself and making it difficult to continue.  So far, I have had 208 blooms on this one little plant.  It is still going strong.  I have deadheaded so many  blooms.  I deadheaded 34 blooms on one branch, or stalk.  Also, all the other Z's are still going strong, still filling my yard with blooms.  The bigger Z's that I bent over, were spreading too far and taking up too much room, so I let them go vertical.  They produced more blooms than their siblings, 3 to 1 ratio.  I would like to have one section of yard dedicated to bendover Z's.  I am bending over a candle bush.  It is still in a little shock from uprooting it and bending it over and adding enough mulch to cover the roots.  It is finally beginning to grow along the ground and due to it's weight, it will continue to run along the ground.  When it runs, I will send you a pic.  Bob

 "He who cultivates a garden, and brings to perfection flowers and fruits, cultivates and advances at the same time his own nature."  -- Ezra Weston

ORDER ZINNIAS NOW!   

Subscribe or Unsubscribe HERE to our * News Beams * from the Farm!

From time to time, we will offer web-only specials and publish short stories about the Farm Dogs or the grandkids, and inspirations from life on the Farm in mid-Michigan, the American heartland.  Seasonally, we will write to help Gardeners grow beautiful Zinnias, learn how to make a stunning bouquet, or how to collect precious seed when harvest is here.  Let us know if you would like to receive them.  We have moved our web to a new server and resized all photos for faster load times.  As we approach another winter, I hope you visit us often to see our pretty pictures and read about the simple things we love most here.  Thanks for being a customer!  -Sharon Baller, President

"To see life's passages through the eyes of your heart is to know that all is happening exactly as it was meant to."  -- Flavia Weedn