How To Grow Zinnias

Zinnias are one of the easiest cut flowers to grow. They are great for beginning gardeners. They grow in all soil types and if you pinch them when they are 8-12 inches tall you will get multiple branches and lots of flowers from each plant.  Zinnias do not like cold weather - so if you start your seeds indoors - don't plant them out until the weather has sufficiently warmed and all danger of frost has passed. We start ours 4-6 weeks before our last spring frost.  Adding compost and organic fertilizer to your soil will ensure that your zinnias have all the nutrients that they need to produce mounds of flowers throughout your growing season. We plant our baby zinnia seedlings 6 - 9 inches apart - this gives the zinnias extra support as they grow and reduces weeds in the flower beds. Zinnias also tend to grow taller if planted closer together. Don't plant them any closer than 6 inches - or you may end up with air circulation problems in late summer and end up with Powdery Mildew/Downy Mildew.  If you begin to see powdery mildew or downy mildew develop, it usually begins on the lower leaves, you can pull the leaves off and discard them away from your garden.  There are also organic sprays available for powdery/downy mildew.

Zinnias must be cut when they are fully ripe or they won’t last in the vase. How to tell if your zinnia is ready to harvest?  Use the “wiggle test.” Simply grab the stem about 8 inches  down from the top of the flower head and gently shake it back and forth. If the stem is droopy or bends, it is not ready to cut. If the stem is stiff and remains upright, it is ready to harvest. Add a drop(or two) of bleach into your zinnias water - it will make them last longer. 

Zinnias are "cut and come again" flowers.  The more you cut - the more flowers you get!  There is no need for succession planting of zinnias - they do all the work for you. How great is that?

What makes cut-and-come-again flowers work?

The secret is simple: you must keep them picked. You have to cut everything that is ready to go when it’s ready to go so that the plant will keep producing beautiful stems with perfect, unmarked petals.

What happens if you don’t cut the flowers on a regular basis?They will get pollinated, and the plant will begin seed production. The plant itself will cease to be cut-and-come-again. It will stop sending out new stems, thus stop making new flowers.  The flowers it does have will become marked and aged looking - not ideal for flower bouquets or sales.  

If you love the idea of pollinators and butterflies (as I do!), leave a bloom here or there for the pollinators to enjoy. Zinnias are well loved by pollinators!  We have numerous types of bees and butterflies enjoy our zinnia flowers each summer.  

Lets talk about dead-heading your flowers! 

Dead-heading doesn't work and your future flowers will not have proper stems. You have to take a regular long cut deep into the flower.  Deadheading does not produce an abundance of flowers for future harvest.  Cut your flowers as though you were selling them.  Long deep cuts.  Forcing the plant to put its growing energy into new flowers and new stems.  When cutting your flowers, always cut just above a set of leaf nodes.  The leaf nodal area is where the new stems will form and grow. 

What to do with all of these cut flowers?

Farm stands are a great place to sell the bouquets! Or fill your home, or your friends and neighbours home, with beautiful vases of Zinnia bouquets.  

Happy Growing! and Happy Cutting your Zinnias!

 

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