What have you wintersowed so far #4

Kyla -- i think in Anitas spreadsheet, one of them, she shows previous years of when seeds were sown and what the results were.

Mine mostly get direct sown, but i do plan to sow a few of the Summerhill seeds i got this year.
I got 2 types of Zins.

here is her Year to Year comparison
http://lakehousecreations.com/year_to_year_comparison.htm

**edited to add link


This message was edited Mar 29, 2009 7:27 PM

OK, thanks. I will go look for that spreadsheet then....... When do you direct sow zinnias in Zone 5, may I ask?

Lets see... my last frost date is roughly May 15th .... so probably in the next few weeks.

I may do some indoors ... though last year i did not have good luck. I think out of 14 seeds, i had 1 or 2 survive.

My neighbor -- who is a zinnia nut ... she takes those big rectangular planters and in May, fills them with seeds and just leaves them. She'll get tons of seedlings. then plants out in June or so, when they are about 4" tall.

OH -- you may have missed the link i added above... your reply was before my edit.

Thank you! And I like your neighbor 's method too, Hmmmmm.. ;-)

OK, that was good, thanks for linking the spreadsheet..... she in zone 6 has sown several zinnia varieties right around this time of year and they germinated in around 2 weeks (roughly) so I should be okay for this week, actually later than it could be, if the zone measure is even of use here which I also wonder about.

(edit for that response. ;-) )

This message was edited Mar 29, 2009 5:39 PM

Not to jump in on your conversation, but last year I tried WSing zinnias, starting some indoors to transplant, and direct sowing some. My WS ones got zapped by a late freeze, my indoors ones didn't like being transplanted, but my direct sown ones (which I thought I was starting much too late) just took off and bloomed like crazy until the fall frost got them. I think they germinated in less than a week, and were just covered with blossoms (and butterflies!) in no time!

I think this year I'll just wait and sow them directly where I want them. I have lots of other seedlings started indoors and in WSing jugs, so I'll have plenty to keep me busy without doing extra unnecessary messing with all my zinnias! LOL

Booker (Angie)

Edited to add:
Anita, I love that comparison spreadsheet! I may have to borrow that idea, so I can see at a glance what did well over the course of several years!



This message was edited Mar 29, 2009 7:43 PM

I appreciate your jumping in with that! Thanks. I think I am just a bit worried I will not start soon enough to have flowers, that would be such a drag, LOL! But your info comparing the three methods is exactly what I look for to guide my choices.

kyla: Anita's been at this game for a few years, so she knows the ropes.

I am in zone 6 and I sow zinnias anytime around now- late March, or April. Generally, unless the weather gets really warm, zinnias aren't too anxious to sprout. They like heat. Our temp today was in the 30s, low tonight is 30. If they were out there, I think the seeds would sit around and sleep.

That said, marigolds usually won't sprout without heat, either. But I sowed a jug of them last week and today a lot of the seeds show radicle emergence. I stuck that one jug in the garage for the night- no big deal for me. The other 27 jugs, mostly sprouted, are out there in the freeze. The tops of the jugs are attached and flipped closed, but not even taped anymore. I expect them to be OK. The petunias could possibly be damaged but I doubt it.

After you're at this a few years you get a feel for the plants, know who tolerates what. If you are willing to protect sprouted zinnias in frost, you could sow them in January. I just find it easier to wait and not have to bother with them. And once the real spring warmth arrives, my zinnias generally sprout in a few days.

But in your zone 7b, I can't imagine that you have much frost left? When is your last frost date?

Karen

I think I put mine out in late May or early June (seems like it was about when school got out, as the kids helped me plant those, and the marigolds), and they were blooming in surprisingly short order. I guess those heat-lovers just take off when the conditions are right!

We had vases of zinnias on the table all summer, and I saved bags and bags of seeds last fall. I've been giving them away like crazy (the early childhood program at our school is having great fun with them!), and am finally down to my last baggie! LOL

Hey there. I see you already have the link to my comparison spreadsheet. I sowed zinnia at this time last year and had 100% success. If I remember correctly, I even planted them out the end of April. Here are my blooms from last year.

We had a cold spell come through and I lost sproutlets in 6 containers: Zinnia and Marigold (my seeds from last summer), French Marigold, Cypress vine, and Love-Lies-Bleeding. I was so aggravated at myself for not covering them.
BUT.. the dinnerplate zinnias are fine and a different marigold that are my own NOID sproutlets are fine.. go figure!
Plus I now have 4 new types of sproutlets, so I almost broke even :) Out of 59 jugs, I have 30 with sproutlets, even with my losses. I'm hoping that some of the seeds that hadn't germinated yet will still sprout for me in those 6 jugs. We'll see :)
Since this is my first WSing experiment, I'll just take notes and remember what NOT to do next time!

Chris

Anita, thank you! Lovely results I must say.

Chris, yes, it is those late cold snaps I worry about.

Karen, I believe our last "official" frost date is April 15, but the local word is don't plant out til May 18...... not sure what that's about, it has been hard to get clarity about this and I may even be wrong about the zone I am in, as the maps for this section of CA are all over the place! Being somewhat arid and at 3500 feet elevation changes things too.

Anita,

what is hat Deep Red and White one in the upper Left corner? very pretty.

Terese

Terese, we must have similar tastes, because I was just about to ask the same thing! What a pretty collage! I know I took pictures of my zinnias last year, but darned if I can find that folder on my hard drive!

Thank you - it is part of Zinnia Haageana Persian Carpet. The blooms are very small , maybe an inch in diameter. One of my favorites and looks great in small vases.

tcs1366, your neighbor who sows the zinnia seeds in rectangular planters in May, is she setting those outside somewhere, or is she keeping them inside? And are those the rectangular seed starting trays? That sounds like a good way to do it. I may try that.

Bookerc1, your direct sowing of the zinnias sounds even better to me. I think that may be the way I will go. Hmmmm........ Choices, choices......

Gorgeous zinnias, Anita! I can't wait to see them blooming in my garden this year. This will be my first year trying them. I love the red and white one, too.

Karen

Karen... she just leaves the pots on her back patio .... sorta like "spring sowing"
she does it with Marigolds too.... has very good luck with it.

For the life of me, i can't recall which thread we were talking about Paint Pens.... figured, this one was as good as any... .


I'd been wanting to get the 'fine' tip ones, as mine is sorta wide .... and really didnt want to buy ONE pen due to having to pay shipping... so i took at stab at WallyWorld, as i really dont have a craft store near by.

they have the Painters Paint Markers by Elmers.
I was looking for green, as someone said they used green -- thought that would be nifty....

but they had just about every color but.....

so i got Fine Tip Black and a Dual Tip [med and fine] Red.

Prices were roughly 3.50 for the single tip and $5 something for the dual.

Terese

Terese: That might have been me that used some green paint pens when I couldn't get the black ones and they worked out better on the soda bottles because once the bottom was filled with black dirt, you couldn't read the writing if it was also in black, so the green worked out well on those. I liked it and I still use it. The black actually shows up better, of course, on the white milk jugs.

I try to stock up at Hobby Lobby when they have paint supplies on sale.

Angie

Hey, I was at the local hardware store this last weekend and I found paint pens there.

Helene

For those that can't find the Decocolor Paint pens locally I found these and prefer the Fine Point:
http://www.durablesupply.com/madema.html
http://www.dickblick.com/products/decocolor-paint-markers/
http://www.artsupply.com/sls/deco_color_paint_markers.htm

Does anyone think we need a new thread. I would do it, but not sure how. I have dial up and it is taking too long to load!

Helene

I never found a good paint pen (I will try to remember when I am at Michael's again), but for me, a clear piece of packing tape over sharpie seems to be working well.

I too was thinking about a new thread for the "dial-up-ers"

i'll get it done now.

**edited to add link


New Thread ... come on over....... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/969592/

This message was edited Mar 31, 2009 9:16 AM