Zinnias are beautiful flowers that are perfect for beginning gardeners! These annual flowers are available in many colors and varieties and can add a great burst of color to your garden and are perfect for creating bouquets. Zinnias are very low maintenance and only need a lot of sun, heat and well-drained soil to thrive and can be enjoyed from summer until the first heavy fall frost. They have no major insect problems and can attract beautiful butterflies to your garden!
Start zinnia seeds indoors or in the garden
If you have bought zinnias from a local nursery and were disappointed with the results, try planting them from seed instead. I use zinnia seeds from Botanical Interests.
I have had the most success starting zinnias indoors in seed trays just a few weeks before the last frost date. I use these seed starter trays from Bootstrap Farmer. I transplant them into the garden when they are a few inches tall.
Pollination
Butterflies and hummingbirds can pollinate zinnias, which are attracted to the flowers. This plant can also self-pollinate since it has both sets of reproductive organs (stamens and pistils).
Allow your zinnia flowers to dry completely before removing them from the plant. Picking a flower early may result in immature seeds that will not germinate. You’ll know it’s completely dried when the flower turns dark brown and dries to your hand. Place seeds on a mesh screen to ensure the seed is dry on both sides before storing for future planting.
Harvest – Zinnia seed storage
Zinnia seed production will result in a rapid decline in bloom. However, if we really want to collect Zinnia seeds, we can do it easily. First, we must stop the heading of the plant, so that the flowers can produce seeds. Then, we can use paper bags (so that they absorb moisture) to collect the seeds. Simply, we can cut the flowers and rub them gently between our fingers, so that the seeds fall into our paper bag. After we collect them, we can spread them in shallow cases or some paper inside, for a few weeks, to let them dry completely.
Unfortunately, insects suffer from zinnias from time to time. The most common insects that can attack Zinnias are Aphids, Thrips, and Whiteflies. We can easily see insects that have attacked our zinnias. Shake the plant and you will see a swarm of insects fly out. We can also check the underside of the leaf. If we see white spots or eggs, then Aphids or Whiteflies have probably attacked our plants. The best treatment in all cases is prevention. If that didn’t work, you can make a homemade insecticide. We can add 35gr (1.2oz) of dish soap and 10gr (0.36oz) of alcohol to 1 liter (33.8oz) of water and mix it well. We can spray it in the morning wherever you see signs of Aphids, Thrips and Whiteflies. We can repeat every day for several days.
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