2022 Zinnia's

This is a yearly group seed swap event hosted by Tormato.

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MissS
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2022 Zinnia's

#1

Post: # 69838Unread post MissS
Mon May 16, 2022 3:45 pm

What varieties of Zinnia's are all of you growing for the swap this season? I am just going to be starting mine and I would like to grow something that nobody else is sending in? I am definitely growing Benary's Giant Wine and Parks Coral along with Magellan Coral.
~ Patti ~

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Rockoe10
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#2

Post: # 69841Unread post Rockoe10
Mon May 16, 2022 7:00 pm

:oops: I'm not sure which I planted. I received several from this past swap, some with general descriptions of color. So, it'll be a "Variety Pack" from me, lol.
- - - - - - - -
Rob, ZONE 6A with 170 days between frost dates, Western Pennsylvania

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jmsieglaff
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#3

Post: # 69850Unread post jmsieglaff
Mon May 16, 2022 9:38 pm

I’m not participating in the swap, so I hope you don’t mind my comments.

Last year I grew zinnias for the first time (from seed) and first time in many years growing zinnia of any type. I grew chrysanthemum zinnias. They were beautiful and prolific. But they got much too tall for my purposes (intermixed in the garden beds), with pinching they reached 4-5’.

This year I am trying three different types:
Jazzy Red and Scabiosa Mix from Baker Creek
Lilliput Mix from Victory

I’ll be planting them out this week. Started on 4/11 in 4 pack cells.

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GoDawgs
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#4

Post: # 69864Unread post GoDawgs
Tue May 17, 2022 6:59 am

From the swap I've got seeds of California Giants and Tall Mix (Nan6b) planted out but the Benary's Giants, State fair Mix, Giant Enchantress Mix, Queen LIme and Scarlet Flame never germinated. I got a pack each of Giant Cactus Mix and more California Giants at the dollar store as that's all they had left. They came up pronto and are planted out.

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Tormato
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#5

Post: # 69869Unread post Tormato
Tue May 17, 2022 7:35 am

GoDawgs wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 6:59 am From the swap I've got seeds of California Giants and Tall Mix (Nan6b) planted out but the Benary's Giants, State fair Mix, Giant Enchantress Mix, Queen LIme and Scarlet Flame never germinated. I got a pack each of Giant Cactus Mix and more California Giants at the dollar store as that's all they had left. They came up pronto and are planted out.
It looks like several of the commercial seeds you received didn't do anything. :cry:

I've updated the list of what I have, here...

post55343.html#p55343

I think that I'll prep the zinnia bed today, and start just a few varieties in containers. Almost all will be direct seeded. With my never previously growing zinnias, and with 60+ varieties, I may have bitten off more than I can chew. :roll:

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Toomanymatoes
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#6

Post: # 69878Unread post Toomanymatoes
Tue May 17, 2022 9:49 am

Growing Zowie Yellow Flame, Queen Lime Orange, Queen Lime Red and Oklahoma Salmon. The Zowie Yellow Flame and Queen Lime Orange I collected from my garden last year, so not sure if they are cross-pollinated or not. We shall see!

From the 2021 Swap, I sowed Crouching Tiger & Hidden Dragon (none germinated), Starlight Rose (2 germinated) and Senora (1 germinated).

You inspired me to put in a few more, so I just sowed a few Uproar Rose and Purple Prince (from MMMM 2021).

I will try my best to collect seeds for the swap.

EDIT: Between the rabbits and the beetles, I am not sure what will end up growing. The zinnias in my containers are doing fine though. I have no recollection of which ones I planted in my containers, but I should be able to know from the flower since it was only a few distinct types.
Last edited by Toomanymatoes on Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

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LindaJean
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#7

Post: # 69886Unread post LindaJean
Tue May 17, 2022 1:16 pm

IMG_5234.JPG
Oklahoma Salmon is a great zinnia, they get pretty tall though, a couple feet, and will shade out shorter bedding plants.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

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Spike
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#8

Post: # 69918Unread post Spike
Tue May 17, 2022 7:34 pm

Giants of California
Early Bird
Sombrero
Dahlia Flowered Mix
Blue Point Bouquet
Burpee's Big Tetra Mixed Colors
Pinwheel Mixed Colors
Burpeeana Giants
Forecast
Zowie! Yellow Flame
Daffodil (from Sand Hill)
Benary's Giant Coral
Oriole
Jazzy Red

I surround my garden in Zinnia's and Sunflowers to bring in the pollinators AND because they are pretty!!
There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask 'What if I fall?' Oh but my darling, What if you fly?

OhioGardener
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#9

Post: # 69920Unread post OhioGardener
Tue May 17, 2022 8:37 pm

I'll be growing a variety called Mechta from Ukraine. A few other varieties as well, but not in quantity, so I'm not sure how many flowers I'll be able to bag and collect.
Debbie

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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#10

Post: # 82705Unread post greenthumbomaha
Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:42 am

How did the zinnia growing and seed saving go for everyone?

Tormato (as usual) sent a good variety of zinnia seeds and I sowed them all but had mostly spotty to no germination. I really wanted to try the 30 day variety. 25 of the mmmm plants were sent to a friend to save seeds from her raised bed.
A rabbit found them very tasty. She said that was a first for her, ha!

In my home garden, only the first succession plants survived, the later transplants dried up in the extreme heat. I thought zinnias were very heat tolerant. What I learned is they are heat tolerant only when established before temps are in the 90's.

I eventually had huge and beautiful Benrays from the first planting , and every remaining transplant dried up within days. I tried cutting them back but that didn't work, and as a last resort direct seeded with multiple seeds per hole, having little hope that they would have time to flower. Direct seeding in the heat worked much better than transplanting, and due to the prolonged summer weather the direct seeded plants flowered well.

I also grew Canary Yellow and an Exquisite Pink from Lake Valley Seeds which is a brand only sold in local nurserys afaik. Loved the soft pink , but the Canary Yellow was very ordinary.

What I don't understand is the flowers never set mature seeds. They flowered all summer and not a green or dark seed at all. Perhaps my not cutting a "cut and come again flower" for bouquets shut something down. I finally cut them and put in water before the frost on Oct 5 , but they did not continue to mature.

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Spike
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#11

Post: # 82715Unread post Spike
Thu Nov 10, 2022 7:53 am

Spike wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 7:34 pm Giants of California
Early Bird
Sombrero
Dahlia Flowered Mix
Blue Point Bouquet
Burpee's Big Tetra Mixed Colors
Pinwheel Mixed Colors
Burpeeana Giants
Forecast
Zowie! Yellow Flame
Daffodil (from Sand Hill)
Benary's Giant Coral
Oriole
Jazzy Red

I surround my garden in Zinnia's and Sunflowers to bring in the pollinators AND because they are pretty!!
So much happened this year that I was not able to plant any of my Zinnia's or Sunflowers. So these are what I will planting next year and sharing!!
There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask 'What if I fall?' Oh but my darling, What if you fly?

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Tormato
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#12

Post: # 82730Unread post Tormato
Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:10 am

If I ever get around to planting zinnias (I prepped a bed for them 2 years ago), I will plant some for show and some for seed production.

For show, it will be letting the plant do its thing, continually blooming, while pruning flowers before they go to seed. Those will be planted for the neighbors to see.

For seed production, I'll prune a few early flowers before they go to seed, let a couple of flowers go to seed when the plant is larger, and then pruning off all future flower buds. I'm hoping all of the energy of a larger plant will go into producing seeds on just a couple of flowers. These will be planted for the neighbors not to see. I don't want to be seen as a lousy gardener. ;)

The MMMM zinnia inventory is extremely low for almost all varieties. I'm hoping that those that request seeds will attempt to save seeds.

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Spike
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#13

Post: # 82741Unread post Spike
Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:00 pm

@Tormato Do the zinnia's have to be separate or can they be mixed? As you see I do have a few different kinds but usually put them in a bag and shake and plant them as a mix. Yes I am planning for next year.
There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask 'What if I fall?' Oh but my darling, What if you fly?

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Tormato
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#14

Post: # 82755Unread post Tormato
Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:12 pm

Spike wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:00 pm @Tormato Do the zinnia's have to be separate or can they be mixed? As you see I do have a few different kinds but usually put them in a bag and shake and plant them as a mix. Yes I am planning for next year.
Having some mixed zinnias, any color, any height, in the swap is fine.

Mixed colors, but separated by height, with either short, or tall plants, is better. Many participants request only short or tall zinnias.

Individual varieties, whether isolated, or not (possibly crossed seed), is also fine.

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MissS
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#15

Post: # 82758Unread post MissS
Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:37 pm

@Tormato how many Zinnia seeds would you like in a pack?
~ Patti ~

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Tormato
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#16

Post: # 82771Unread post Tormato
Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:02 pm

MissS wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:37 pm @Tormato how many Zinnia seeds would you like in a pack?
It's for you to decide.

Reports from the last swap was disappointment that many commercial seeds did not germinate. Saved seed wasn't really mentioned, unless I missed some posts. If it was me, I'd go with 10 seeds if commercial, a good pinch of saved seed if you have plenty (no need to waste time counting).

This swap isn't about participants getting oodles of seeds in order to plant a long row of something (unless they make a special request, and there is plenty of seed to spare). It's mostly about getting many varieties, with hopefully just enough seeds of a variety to get one plant that will provide all of the seeds for the next year, if one wants to do a large planting. You already know this. It's for others to understand.

P.S. Hey Sue, Patti is up late posting thumbs up. So, you're not alone.
I'm going to sleep now, as the laptop battery just finished charging.

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GoDawgs
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#17

Post: # 82792Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Nov 11, 2022 6:45 am

OK, a question about collecting zinnia seed. No, make that two. The first involves ray seeds vs disc seeds. Before I started pulling dried zinnia flowers apart I looked up saving zinnia seed online as I've never done that before. I found there are two types of seeds from one flower. Ray seeds attached to the base of each petal and disk seeds that come out of the dried middle of the flower.

I found this tutorial which was helpful to me: https://garden.org/thread/view/77919/zi ... /?offset=0

But there seems to be a bit of difference of opinion online as to which type of seed is better to use... if there's any difference at all. Can any of you help with this?

Second question: should I bag zinnia flowers that I want to collect seed from if I'm going to send seed in to MMMM? Seems to be a lot of info on ease of cross pollination in mixed beds.

I saved some specific colors this summer and saved the ray seeds separate from the disk seeds for each of those varieties but I haven't gotten around to do any germination tests so I didn't send any in this fall. In the tutorial there are two ways to judge viable seeds. One way is to gently try to bend a seed to see if it's viable or a dud. Non-benders are good, those that bend easily aren't. The other involves feeling each seed; viable ones are somewhat fatter and more firm than duds. Sometimes you can just see which ones are more fat.

Should I or should I not send in some of this seed I collected? Inquiring minds want to know. :)

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Tormato
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#18

Post: # 82796Unread post Tormato
Fri Nov 11, 2022 7:29 am

GoDawgs wrote: Fri Nov 11, 2022 6:45 am OK, a question about collecting zinnia seed. No, make that two. The first involves ray seeds vs disc seeds. Before I started pulling dried zinnia flowers apart I looked up saving zinnia seed online as I've never done that before. I found there are two types of seeds from one flower. Ray seeds attached to the base of each petal and disk seeds that come out of the dried middle of the flower.

I found this tutorial which was helpful to me: https://garden.org/thread/view/77919/zi ... /?offset=0

But there seems to be a bit of difference of opinion online as to which type of seed is better to use... if there's any difference at all. Can any of you help with this?

Second question: should I bag zinnia flowers that I want to collect seed from if I'm going to send seed in to MMMM? Seems to be a lot of info on ease of cross pollination in mixed beds.

I saved some specific colors this summer and saved the ray seeds separate from the disk seeds for each of those varieties but I haven't gotten around to do any germination tests so I didn't send any in this fall. In the tutorial there are two ways to judge viable seeds. One way is to gently try to bend a seed to see if it's viable or a dud. Non-benders are good, those that bend easily aren't. The other involves feeling each seed; viable ones are somewhat fatter and more firm than duds. Sometimes you can just see which ones are more fat.

Should I or should I not send in some of this seed I collected? Inquiring minds want to know. :)
The last line of post #12 is your answer.

Also, perhaps there can be a small group effort to see if either type of seed performs better than the other.

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Toomanymatoes
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#19

Post: # 82801Unread post Toomanymatoes
Fri Nov 11, 2022 8:08 am

I was only able to collect seeds from a two types that were grown in pots - Uproar Rose and Starlight Rose. My main flower garden was a mix (Benarys, Queen Limes, Oklahoma, Redman) and I had plans to collect the seeds from the different types separately, but one day every flower was brown (likely due to frost). So I had no clue what anything was any longer. It is now just a big mix of all sorts of taller zinnias. I do have a Magellan mix and a couple others that I collected last year that I can try to send. Too many seeds to go through and not enough time....package is getting a bit too big too.

greenthumbomaha
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Re: 2022 Zinnia's

#20

Post: # 82917Unread post greenthumbomaha
Sat Nov 12, 2022 5:57 pm

Toomanymatoes wrote: Fri Nov 11, 2022 8:08 am I was only able to collect seeds from a two types that were grown in pots - Uproar Rose and Starlight Rose. My main flower garden was a mix (Benarys, Queen Limes, Oklahoma, Redman) and I had plans to collect the seeds from the different types separately, but one day every flower was brown (likely due to frost). So I had no clue what anything was any longer. It is now just a big mix of all sorts of taller zinnias. I do have a Magellan mix and a couple others that I collected last year that I can try to send. Too many seeds to go through and not enough time....package is getting a bit too big too.
What did you think of Uproar Rose? It is highly recommended by Gardener's Workshop but gets mixed reviews in a 2008 NC State trial. Seeds are pretty costly!

- Lisa

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