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Zinnia was grown by the ancient Aztecs, summer residents are also well acquainted with this flower, but they call it mainly “major”. Zinnias are great for decorating the local area in a rustic style, which in recent years has become increasingly popular in Europe, and throughout the world. You can combine these flowers with marigolds, snapdragons, marigolds, or use more elegant varieties to compose a composition – zinnia looks great in tandem with any flowers. Flower growers love majors for their variegated colors and amazing unpretentiousness, they appreciate them for their ease of cultivation and long flowering periods.
This article will be devoted to how to grow zinnia from seeds, when to plant seedlings in the ground and how to care for adult flowers.
Description of the species
Zinnia (Latin name Zinnia) is a shrub plant from the Asteraceae family. This flower comes from southern Mexico, and since the end of the last century, zinnias have already been distributed to all continents of the globe.
The characteristics of zinnia flowers are as follows:
- annual cycle of vegetation, although in warm countries this flower is cultivated as a perennial;
- different flower heights – from 20 to 100 cm, which allows you to divide all zinnias into dwarf, undersized, medium and tall species;
- the leaves of the flower are entire, ovate, pointed, pubescent with hard short hairs;
- the stem is powerful, grassy, also covered with fluff;
- inflorescences – apical single baskets;
- the diameter of the flowers can be different – from 3 to 15 cm;
- flower stalks are long;
- petals can be single-row or tiled, creating complex lush inflorescences;
- zinnias are painted in absolutely any shades, except for the blue palette;
- the flower is resistant to drought and high temperatures;
- zinnia does not tolerate cold well, the flower and its seeds die at -1 degree;
- the fruit of the major is an achene with a crest filled with seeds;
- the plant is very unpretentious, its seedlings are easy to grow at home.
Determination of landing dates
To answer the question of when to plant zinnias for seedlings, you need to know some of the features of this flower. For example, The growing season for zinnias from sowing seeds to flowering is about two and a half months. The “seedling” phase of the life of these flowers lasts from four to six weeks.
The timing of sowing zinnias will still largely depend on the climate in a particular region of the country, because, as already mentioned, these plants do not tolerate cold at all. Even a short-term zero temperature will be detrimental to seedlings of majors, therefore, planting flowers should be done only when the soil warms up well and the threat of spring frosts has passed.
Simple calculations will help determine what the optimal time for sowing zinnia seeds for seedlings will be mid-April. Such seedlings will have enough time to grow, harden and get stronger before landing in a permanent place. The flowering of zinnias in this case should begin at the end of June or in the first days of July.
How majors are sown for seedlings
So, you need to sow zinnia no earlier than April. By this time, flower seeds, seedling soil and containers are being prepared. To check the germination of seeds, it is recommended to wrap them in a cotton pad soaked in Epin solution. Last year’s seeds should hatch in a couple of days, but older ones will need about a week.
The soil for sowing seeds of majors should be nutritious and loose, well-drained. A self-prepared mixture of garden soil (which can be taken directly from the flower bed), peat, humus and river sand in equal proportions is perfect.
The capacity for sowing zinnia seeds should be low, but voluminous – then planting flowers will be common. There is another option for planting zinnias for seedlings in individual pots or in peat tablets.
In any case, the seeds of majors are laid out 2-3 pieces in one planting hole. The seeding depth should not exceed one centimeter. The distance between adjacent holes is about five centimeters.
The seeds laid out on the ground are lightly sprinkled with dry earth or peat and the plantings are sprayed with a spray bottle. Now it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions for flower seedlings by covering the container with cling film or transparent glass.
How to care for seedlings
Until the seeds germinate, several times a day the film or glass must be removed and wiped dry with a clean cloth, removing condensation. As soon as all the sprouts appear, the shelter is removed and the containers or cups with zinnia are placed in a brighter place. It can be a table standing near the window, or a window sill. As a rule, in April there is already enough natural sun, so there is no need to illuminate the flower seedlings.
Due to the lack of light, zinnia seedlings can stretch out. If this happens, it is necessary to cover the formed adventitious roots by simply pouring a little soil into the tray. The scorching spring sun can also destroy zinnia seedlings, so it is better to provide diffused light to the flowers (by covering the window with a curtain or a dense mesh).
Zinnia seedlings should be watered regularly, but not too abundantly – the soil should not dry out, but excessive moisture is also not needed. Water for irrigation is taken settled, at room temperature.
At the end of May, you can gradually take the seedlings out into the street or onto an open balcony for the purpose of hardening. The hardening process should last at least a week.
Landing in the ground
With how to grow seedlings of zinnia, everything is clear, it remains to deal with planting these flowers in a permanent place. The best time for planting seedlings in the ground will be the end of May, in the northern regions it is better not to rush and wait for the June heat (after all, the cold is detrimental to zinnias).
When the soil warms up well, you can start preparing:
- Containers with seedlings are well shed with warm water so that the branched roots of zinnias are easily separated from each other.
- Choose a well-lit area in the flower bed, closed from drafts and wind. The soil there should be neutral, nutritious, well-drained. Therefore, if the soil does not meet these requirements, it must be prepared (deoxidized, add sand and peat, feed with mineral fertilizers).
- Given the spreading of zinnias, holes are made at a distance of at least 35 cm from each other. The depth of the holes should be about 10-15 cm.
- Seedlings are transferred to a permanent place by transshipment or flowers are planted in peat cups (tablets). You need to act very carefully, since the majors do not tolerate transplantation well, their roots are easily injured.
- Compress the soil around the stem of the seedling and water each plant with warm water.
Direct growing from seeds is also quite suitable for zinnias, because these flowers do not like transplanting. If the weather is still cool in the region, and it’s time to sow flowers, you can create a mini-greenhouse over the crops by simply stretching plastic wrap. In the southern regions, zinnia seeds are simply sown in the ground at the end of May or in early June. In this case, the flowering of majors will be later (by 2-3 weeks), but the plants will be much healthier and stronger.
How to care for majors
Photos of zinnia flowers are beautiful: these large inflorescences of various shapes and colors will be a real decoration for any garden. What will especially please the grower who opted for the majors is that they do not need complicated care at all.
The whole care of zinnia consists in such simple actions:
- it is necessary to fertilize the flowers only twice per season (one month after planting the seedlings and immediately before flowering). As a fertilizer, both a mineral complex and a solution of liquid mullein are suitable. Fertilizers need to be applied in liquid form, watering the flowers under the root.
- If the grower needs low, but thick zinnia bushes, then the flowers can be pinched. They do this even at the seedling stage, when several pairs of true leaves appear on the plants. Pinching is done over 4-5 sheets. You can also form a bush of majors in a flower bed, but do it before the budding period.
- During periods of severe drought, zinnias need to be watered, water is brought strictly under the root, trying not to wet the leaves and flowers.
Of the pests for majors, the most dangerous are aphids, May beetles, slugs and snails. The last two need to be dealt with “manually”: collect gastropod pests, lay out slate near the flowers, or mulch the soil with large sawdust. With insects, everything is easier – the flowers are sprayed a couple of times with chemical insecticides.
- Zinnia can also get sick, usually these are fungal infections or all kinds of rot. It is extremely difficult to fight such diseases, you have to remove the affected flowers completely. Therefore, it is better to prevent infection and adhere to the recommendations for growing majors: plant flowers in a sunny place, do not thicken plantings, do not be zealous with watering.
At the end of the season, zinnias are simply pulled out along with the roots and destroyed in order to plant seedlings of new flowers in the flower bed next spring.
Conclusion
Zinnia is an unpretentious and very beautiful flower, which is hard to miss because of its colorful and juicy colors, large buds, thick and lush bushes. Growing majors is not difficult at all, these flowers can be planted both with seeds and seedlings. How to plant flowers correctly is described above – you just need to follow the recommendations given.
Learn more about planting zinnia seeds in this video:
