Zinnia

Family: Asteraceae or Compositae.

Origin. The first plants were brought to Europe from Mexico.

Description. Zinnia are attractive annual or perennial flowering plants with powerful, erect, slightly branched shoots.

The leaves are green, smooth, entire, broadly lanceolate, sessile. The venation is arcuate, the leaf blades are arranged in opposite pairs, and in some species they are collected in whorls. Many species are distinguished by the presence of slight pubescence on the surface of the leaf blades.

In the summer months, brightly colored flower heads appear on the tops of the shoots - white, yellow, pink or red, reaching a diameter of 5 - 14 cm. There are spectacular varieties with contrasting strokes on the surface of the petals. Depending on the species, flower heads can be simple, semi-double or double - with several rows of reed flowers.

The center of the buds, consisting of tubular flowers, is yellow, less often brownish. After flowering, flat brown seeds appear in place of the flower heads.

The name "zinnia" was given by Johann Gottfried Zinn, a scientist who delivered a dried flower to the very famous Austrian botanist Carl Linnaeus, who in turn described the new genus. It currently includes 22 species of plants.

Height. Depending on the variety, the height can vary from 25-30 to 100 cm, it develops very quickly.

When it blooms

The first buds adorn zinnia in July. When grown in open ground, the inflorescences constantly replace each other. Flowering is often interrupted only by the onset of frost. Each bud can remain open and attractive for 4-5 weeks.

Planting and care

Planting in open ground can be done both with seeds and with seedlings. Windy areas and places with close groundwater are not suitable for growing the flower. It is also not worth planting in poorly drained soil, in which melt and rainwater are retained.

Zinnia prefers a well-lit location - when grown in conditions of lack of light, the plants become loose, elongated, and flowering becomes sparse. The bush prefers loose soils with a high nutrient content.

Before planting, it is worth adding a sufficient amount of river sand to heavy loams - it will make the soil looser and more permeable, and will prevent the soil from caking. It is also worth adding leaf humus to clay soil - it will improve the structure of the soil.

The soil is additionally enriched with mineral flower fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium, and well-rotted organic matter is also mixed in - for example, humus, cow or horse manure.

The soil should have a pH level that is slightly acidic or close to neutral - in the range of 5.5 to 7.5. 

How and when to plant

When planting, you should be very careful - the genus is not resistant to frost and as soon as the air temperature at night drops to -1 degree, the bushes can die. For sowing seeds and for planting seedlings, it is necessary for a stable temperature above zero to be established.

Before planting, it is worth hardening off the seedlings - adapting them to new conditions within a week. For hardening, the pots are taken outside during the daytime and left for 2 - 3 hours, gradually increasing this time interval.

The soil in the planting area is dug up, weeds with roots are pulled out and the surface of the earth is leveled.  

Mark the area by making planting holes for seedlings, the width and height of which will exceed the root ball. The distance between the holes depends on the height of the plants - it is usually indicated on the package with the seeds. For low-growing border zinnias, it is enough to leave about 10 - 15 cm between the holes. Tall varieties will need more space and for such plants the distance between holes can reach up to 80 cm.

Seedlings are planted in the ground on a cool and cloudy day - in the morning or evening.

If the seedlings are in peat pots, they are planted together with them. When grown in plastic containers, the seedlings are watered abundantly the day before planting and planted using the transshipment method, keeping the root ball intact.

During planting, the base of the bush can be deepened a little - this will not cause harm. When deepening along the entire height of the shoot immersed in the ground, additional adventitious roots are formed. Such roots will help to absorb more nutrients and provide stronger contact with the soil.

After planting, the soil at the base of the flowers is slightly compacted and watered. To prevent the development of weeds, the area is mulched with straw, sawdust or tree bark.

The seedlings will not even notice the transshipment - the bushes quickly adapt to the new place and begin to grow.

A couple of weeks after transplanting, the tops of the shoots of tall species are pinched, leaving 3 - 4 pairs of leaves. If you plan to use the inflorescences for cutting, then such pinching is not done.

How to care

When grown in the garden, zinnia does not require much time and effort and requires minimal care.

Tall varieties are provided with support, since the root system of the flower is weak and the plants often fall under the weight of their own buds.

Watering is carried out in the morning and evening hours, as soon as the surface of the soil dries out a little. After watering, the soil is loosened, the area is weeded and the bases of the bushes are covered with mulch.

As soon as wilting inflorescences appear, they are cut off along with the peduncle. Such pruning prevents the development of many diseases and stimulates the formation of new peduncles.

Shelter for the winter

When grown in open ground, only perennial species will need shelter. After the first night frosts, annuals lose their attractiveness - they are sent to compost.

In harsh climates, even with shelter, perennial species often die. Any frost can destroy the flower, so before their onset, at the very beginning of autumn, the plants you like are simply planted in a pot and sent indoors.

If the bushes remain in the garden to overwinter, then at the same time they are cut, leaving only a few centimeters of growth above ground level, and then sprinkled with dry fallen leaves and spruce branches.

Fertilizers and watering

During the period of growth and formation of buds, it is worth watering the plants in a timely manner with warm water. Watering is carried out in the morning or evening, preventing moisture from getting on the leaves and flowers and drying the soil surface to 3 - 5 cm in depth. Constantly wetting the leaves leads to the appearance of fungal diseases. 

Watering should be rare, but quite abundant - about 20 liters of water should be added to each plant.

For abundant formation of buds, sufficient nutrition will be required - fertilizers are applied 3 times per season.

For seedlings, you can use nitrogen mineral mixtures - they will help to form green mass faster. For adult specimens, potassium and phosphorus compounds are suitable, promoting the formation of buds.

Zinnia responds positively to the use of well-rotted organic matter as a top dressing - you can add humus to the soil, water the plants with a weak solution of chicken manure or mix it with horse and cow manure.

You can add small pieces of charcoal to the soil or sprinkle the plantings with wood ash.

The first feeding is carried out after the seedlings have adapted to the garden - a month after planting. The second time, fertilizers are applied when the first buds appear, and the last feeding is during the flowering period.

The best results can be achieved by alternating mineral fertilizers and organic matter.

Growing from seeds

Zinnia is easy to grow from seed and readily self-sows in warm regions. In such conditions, a place for a flower is selected where it will not interfere with other plants.

For seed propagation, they try to use planting material collected from the edges of the inflorescence - it is in this place that the largest reed flowers bloom. Seeds collected from the inside of the inflorescences produce weak plants with small flowers. Often such seeds simply do not germinate. 

Seed collection

It is not advisable to grow varietal bushes from seeds - often their offspring will not inherit all the attractiveness of the parent specimens. The only exception may be plants whose different varieties were more than 200 meters apart. Only species-specific individuals fully retain their appearance when propagated by seed.

Full maturation of planting material occurs 2 months after flowering.

Since only the best inflorescences should be selected for planting, the earliest, largest and brightest buds are marked with colored threads. To prevent the bushes from wasting energy on flowering and seed formation in other flower baskets, they are cut off together with side shoots.

Seed collection is postponed until warm and dry weather sets in. Dried flower heads are cut off with pruning shears and the seeds are separated. The collected planting material is scattered on a sheet of paper and left in a warm and well-ventilated room for 2-3 days.

After drying, the seeds are collected in paper envelopes and stored in a dry and cool place for 2-3 years, using as needed. Good seed germination is maintained for a long time.

Sowing

Sowing seeds to obtain seedlings is carried out in seedling boxes or in separate cups in mid-April. The first buds will decorate plants grown from seeds after 2 months.

In general, seed germination is good, but preliminary preparation can speed up the appearance of sprouts. It would be advisable to carry out such preparation to identify viable planting material - when planting in separate cups or pots.

For a couple of days, the planting material is placed in a damp gauze soaked in phytohormones. After such soaking, the fresh planting material will be the first to hatch - the seeds will crack and release the tip of the root. Seeds collected several years ago may hatch only after a week.

When sowing seeds for seedlings, drainage holes are made at the bottom of the flower containers and a drainage layer of expanded clay, fragments of clay pots or bricks, small pieces of foam is laid.

The boxes are filled with a loose, nutritious flower substrate, up to a third of the volume of which can be river sand. The soil surface is thoroughly sprayed from a sprayer and the seeds are sown, leaving a distance of about 3 - 4 cm between them. The depth of seed placement should be 5 - 7 mm.

After the seeds are covered with soil, it is also sprayed, and the boxes with seedlings are covered with a transparent plastic cap. Covering will help create a greenhouse effect - in such conditions the first shoots will appear faster.

Leave the seedlings on a well-lit windowsill without access to direct sunlight, at an air temperature of about 24 - 25 degrees Celsius. Do not expose the seedlings to temperatures below 16 degrees - the bushes will stop developing.

The germination of fresh seeds is very high, and the first shoots can be seen already 4 - 7 days after sowing the seeds. When the sprouts appear, the cover is removed, and the shoots are hardened.

When each bush can boast 2 real leaf blades, they are picked - the plants are planted in separate cups. Dig up the seedlings very carefully, trying to roll over each specimen together with a lump of earth.

When picking, you can deepen the sprouts a little, and after 3-4 days reduce the air temperature to 18-20 degrees. If the root system is damaged, the seedlings get sick and lag behind their peers in development.

8 - 10 days after the dive, the first fertilizing is carried out with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, diluted to a very weak concentration.

Diving can be avoided by planting seedlings in peat pots. When sowing, 2-3 seeds are placed in each pot, and if all the sprouts appear, the weaker ones are simply cut off to the ground with scissors, without disturbing the roots of adjacent sprouts. 

When grown in separate containers, sprinkle the required amount of soil at the base of the seedlings as they grow. Such seedlings are planted in the garden along with pots. 

You can sow the seeds directly into open ground after the air temperature does not drop below zero at night.

Sowing is carried out in shallow furrows, leaving a distance between rows of about 60 cm. After sowing, the rows are watered with warm water, trying not to wash out the planting material.

After the young plants reach 8 - 10 cm in height, the bushes are thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots and maintaining a distance between plants of at least 12 - 15 cm. Planting too densely can lead to the appearance of powdery mildew. 

Reproduction by cuttings

Cuttings are extremely rarely used when propagating zinnia - it is much easier to grow this flower from seeds. If it is necessary to preserve varietal characteristics and obtain a full-fledged clone of a flower, then in the first half of summer the parts of the stems located closer to the top are cut off, making the lower cut oblique. 

The bases of the cuttings are dusted with growth hormones. To reduce moisture loss, leaf blades are cut by a third or even half their length.

The bases of the cuttings are immersed in a nutritious, well-moistened substrate 1-2 cm deep at a slight angle. From above, to maintain high air humidity, the cuttings are covered with transparent polyethylene.

It will be possible to speak about the successful completion of the process when new shoots appear at the base of the cuttings. Unfortunately, cuttings often end in failure. 

Home care

Mostly low-growing, dwarf varieties are suitable for placement in pots, and success will depend on the availability of a well-lit place.

When grown at home, soil is prepared for the plant, consisting of turf and leaf humus, and peat from garden soil. To improve water permeability, river sand, perlite or vermiculite are mixed into the ground.

The optimal air temperature is considered to be from 20 to 25 degrees in the spring and summer and about 12 degrees in the winter months.

For planting, select pots with fairly large drainage holes, slightly tight. In too large a container, the plants will bloom less abundantly. Put a drainage layer on the bottom of the pots and pour in nutritious flower soil. 

The seedlings are placed in the center of the pot together with the root ball, sprinkled with soil in a circle and lightly compacted after planting. The soil surface should be 1 - 2 cm below the walls of the pot. The flower is watered and placed on the windowsill of a southwest or southeast window.

Since the bushes are content with a small amount of soil, they require timely feeding. Immediately after watering, 3 times a month, add mineral fertilizers for flowering plants.

In the summer months, if possible, take the pots out into the fresh air - to the garden, loggia or balcony.

As the top layer of soil dries out 1-2 cm thick, water with warm water that has been settled for a day or more. Excess moisture that appears in the tray is poured out immediately after watering.

Peduncles with wilting buds are cut off with sharp sterile pruning shears.

Since annual species lose their attractiveness after flowering, they are simply sent to compost. Perennials are cut, maintaining a compact shape, and in the fall and winter they are sent to a fairly cool place with a temperature of about 12 degrees Celsius.

This period of rest will contribute to abundant flowering in the next season. If the air temperature is not lowered, the bushes will continue to develop, and in conditions of insufficient light in the winter months they will become elongated and unsightly.

During the dormant period, watering is reduced to a minimum, simply not allowing the soil to dry out, and the flower is completely denied fertilizing.

Diseases and pests

If improperly cared for or planted too densely, zinnia may suffer from certain diseases. In cool and too humid conditions, flowers can be attacked by fungi - powdery mildew and gray rot appear. Fusarium and bacterial spotting sometimes appear.

With a large amount of nitrogen in the soil, plants will grow leaves abundantly and stop blooming. When fertilized with fresh manure or other unrotted organic matter, bushes are more susceptible to fungal diseases.

When moisture stagnates in the soil, root rot appears. Harmful insects that can be annoying include May beetles, slugs, snails, and aphids.

Interesting facts, legends

Flower stalks are often used for cutting and do not lose their attractiveness for a long time in a vase with water. When grown in the garden, plants, depending on their size in landscape design, can be used as a bright accent in a flower bed or flower garden, or as a border species planted in the foreground to decorate garden paths.

In Mexico, local residents paid attention to this flower back in the 16th century - even at that time, the Aztecs grew zinnias. In European gardening, the flower first became widespread in the 18th century.

All the variety of varieties and species can be divided into several groups: by bush height - low-growing (up to 30 cm), medium-sized (30 - 60 cm), tall (60 - 90 cm).

Based on the shape of the buds there are:

• dahlia-flowered varieties are the most common, having a large number of reed flowers arranged in a tiled pattern,
• cactus zinnias are plants that produce large, slightly disheveled flower heads with very long ligulate flowers,
• chrysanthemum-shaped zinnias - buds are characterized by a large number of rather narrow reed flowers,
• pompons - in these varieties, the flower baskets are hemispherical in shape and have numerous wide reed flowers.

Types:

Zinnia elegans

A widespread species in floriculture. The plants are annual, reach a height of 30 - 120 cm, bloom in early July. The leaves are green, oblong-oval, arranged in opposite pairs. The vast majority of modern zinnia varieties have been bred on the basis of this species.

Dwarf Zinnia Linearis

 A distinctive feature of this plant species is the presence of narrow, linear leaves of green or dark green color, collected in whorls. During the flowering period, small flower heads with reed flowers of white, yellow or orange hue are formed at the top of each shoot. Bushes of this species reach a height of 30 - 45 cm.

Zinnia haagena

 The extremely attractive inflorescences of plants of this species consist of flowers, often colored in several shades at once - yellow, orange, brown, red, white and burgundy. The leaf blades are narrow, green, glossy, often slightly bent along the central vein. The height of the plant can be 40 - 60 cm. 

Zinnia angustifolia

 Compact flowering annuals up to 50 cm high with shoots abundantly branched at the base and narrow leaf blades painted green. The flower heads are painted in white, yellow or orange shades and reach a diameter of 5 cm.

Varieties:

Zinnia Master

 Compact border plants up to 25 cm high, the variety was bred on the basis of graceful zinnia. The bushes are distinguished by very abundant, long-lasting flowering, and in addition, the diameter of each double inflorescence can reach 8 - 10 cm.

Zahara

 Large brightly colored inflorescences of this variety consist of wide ligulate flowers, located in 1-2 rows. Flowers are colored in white, pink, red, yellow shades. The height of the plant reaches 30-40 cm. When grown from seeds, flowering occurs in the second half of summer.

Zinnia Profusion

 A hybrid variety bred on the basis of angustifolia and graceful zinnia. It is a bush up to 40 cm high with narrow leaves arranged in opposite pairs. Reed flowers are arranged in 2 rows and are painted in white, yellow, salmon or pink shades. The inflorescences are small - reaching a diameter of 5 cm, but are formed very abundantly.

Zinnia California giants

 Tall, large annuals with powerful, thick shoots up to 80 cm high. The inflorescences are lush, double, monochromatic, reach a diameter of 10 cm and can be painted in yellow, crimson, and red shades. The sufficiently large height allows the inflorescences of this variety to be used for bouquets.

Zinnia Persian Carpet

A variety bred on the basis of zinnia angustifolia, the plants are characterized by abundant and long-lasting flowering. The buds are not large, but are painted in very bright shades of yellow - red - brown.

Queen Red Lime

 A distinctive feature of this dahlia-flowered zinnia is its large inflorescences, colored in an unusual pinkish-green hue. The bushes are tall - easily reaching a height of 80 - 100 cm in optimal conditions.

Zinnia Polar Bear

 Strong flowering annuals up to 80 - 120 cm high with branched shoots and opposite green leaves. The flower baskets are terry, reaching a diameter of 10 - 12 cm. The reed flowers are painted white, the middle of the inflorescences is light green.

Zinnias Swizzle Cherry Ivory

 A variety with very abundant flowering and large flower heads, colored in 2 shades at once - cherry and ivory. The plants are classified as border plants and even in adulthood remain compact in size. The height of the bush often does not exceed 15 - 30 cm.

Zinnia Luminosa

 The double inflorescences of the bushes of this variety are colored bright pink. The height of the plant easily reaches 90 cm, and the diameter of the lush inflorescences is 10 - 13 cm.

Zinnia Scabiosa

 An interesting feature of such plants is the inflorescences, on the edges of which there are wide reed flowers, and inside - tightly rolled - tubular. The center of the inflorescence is dark, brown. The bushes reach a height of 70 - 90 cm.