I grew zinnias for the first time this year, the Floret Unicorn Mix and they came out so pretty. My husband has declared zinnias his new favorite flower
I grew three Floret zinnias. I had great germination and the plants rivelled my Benarys Giants in the height. I also had no powdery mildew. So quite a different experience from yours.
Hello, I am watching from Scotland and just want to say I am learning so so much from your videos. I really appreciate how generous you are with the information you share. Thank you! You’re such a good teacher. This year I also loved the queen lime red, absolutely gorgeous colours, couldn’t stop looking at them. I also grew the lilliput salmon which were cute little blooms and a nice colour but probably too small so won’t do them again. That seed saving tip is pure gold and will save me a fortune. Thanks again!
I followed your zinnia guide! Your the reason I created two 8x4 beds and one was dedicated to cut flowers. Everything was perfect! Thank you for all of your knowledge! Your a fabulous teacher! My flowers were a happy place for me this summer! Your dahlia guide is also so beyond useful still waiting for my frosts to dig them up.
I don't know why I waited so long to get on the zinnia train, but for the past two years I have enjoyed them immensely and I intend to grow many more next year. I also direct seed them. Thanks for all the great info - I didn't know you could harvest green seeds.
Yep, same. Some of mine are taller than my Benary’s series. Although, all of mine were planted out in my field here in Central Maine. I loved all of the varieties from Floret.
Bri you're so amazing! I don't know how you do it but every time I have a question about a certain process or plant you immediately put out a video about it! You have perfect timing! Thanks for being wonderful and sharing your incredible knowledge!
Thank you! I have never grown zinnias but after your videos I feel so exited and confident that I can choose the right zinnia for my garden and so exited to grow them from the seeds 🎉. Thank you for the tips! I cannot wait for the next year and share the flowers with my family and friends. I really appreciate it!
Great video. One can always use more tips on zinnias. I've been growing zinnias for four years because they're a great cut flower and the colors are amazing.
I will never grow tulips as well. I did plant almost 350 allium bulbs this fall. I am totally amazed at your method of saving zinnia seeds from flowers that aren't dead. I always collect zinnia seeds from spent flowers and next year I will try your method! WOW! All your tips on growing zinnias are fantastic and I like your three picks plus honourable mention. I can't believe how big the Benary zinnias grow, like giants and I will have to have some of these next year. Cheers from Alberta, Canada!
I grew every variety of Floret’s zinnias. I got at least 98% germination on all of them. Each were drop dead gorgeous, huge, extremely tall, and true to color and form. Their seed production facilities aren’t large enough for it to be some sort of differing batch or something. It sounds like something must be going on with your soil or some seed got mixed up (please don’t take offense). I wish it were possible to post photos on here to show you mine. I cannot get over how enormous my Alpenglow were. They were larger and more stacked than Benary’s Giant and the same (if not taller) height. The smaller of the Floret Zinnias, Victorian Wedding, are supposed to be shorter and smaller. They are. But again, those blooms were stacked similarly to an Oklahoma type. I got unbelievably gorgeous colors, forms, and sizes, unlike any other zinnia I’ve ever grown on my farm.
Thank you for a great video. I enjoy growing the cupcake pink and the zinderella series. Both are smaller, but so cute. I get a fair number of singles, but I love those too. I had trouble with germination on the Floret Unicorn mix, but I’m willing to chalk that up to user error. I will try again next year. The few that did grow were beautiful colors.
I grew the red and pink cactus zinnias this year, and especially loved the pink! Lots of different shades of corals, mauves, soft and bright pinks. They also aged nicely on the plant like you were mentioning, often going toward a lavender tone. I’m very excited to try more colors of the cactus next year. I never would have picked this variety, but grew them because the seeds were a gift, and so happy I did!! I’m up on the Olympic Peninsula in Wa. and am really inspired by your channel!❤
You grow your zinnias so well!! I direct seeded my zinnias this year, but the slugs ate them all, all 3 rounds! 🤬 I was left with 3 little plants that flowered. I didn't have the heart to cut them after they survived the slugs
You were my zinnia inspiration! I direct sowed in June in Oregon. I did it in two places in my yard. One was irrigated and one wasn’t. The non-watered area only got water until germination. Then no water! But it was planted in a Hugelkulture (Anne of All Trades/lazy gardening method). My favorite was Floret Peach!
My Alpenglow was very different from your color. More golds to pinks with vatigation. Most of mine turned out singles. Love your suggestion to direct sow, it's just hard in a backyard garden where most of my zinnias are in containers. Love your videos! I learn a lot from you. Please show us more bouquet making videos.
I started growing zinnias for the first time this year, thanks to you and your great guidance. My favorite was the queenie lime. Another bonus, the bloom latest much longer than any other zinnia that I grew.
I had excellent germination with my Floret zinnias, because they got extra love indoors with lights and a heat mat. They were healthy plants with pretty blooms, a few were stunning, but I have decided I want a little bit more color than the Alpen Glow and Precious Metals I chose. I know they had brighter choices, but I thought I wanted pastels. 😂 Oklahoma Salmon is on my list for next year, and I got a free pack of Queen Lemon Peach from Baker Creek with my last order.
This year my 2 favorites were Uproar Rose zinnia and Queen lemon peach. I tend toward bright colored zinnias so I was surprised by how much I liked the Queen variety. The Floret Unicorn mix were my favorites of her selections probably for the same reason. 👍
My Floret Dawn Creek Blush did very well. Lots of pinks, dark pink, light yellow, and whites. I am trying to save some seeds. I did start them indoors first. Next year I am going to direct seed.
Thank you so much for all that wonderful info on zinnias Bri! Such helpful tips…especially about seed saving. I’ve always had trouble finding viable seeds through all the piles of petals zinnias heads can produce. Your method is a time saver as well as an easy method to finding those big viable seeds. I’m so thankful to you 😊
Thank you for sharing! I’m hoping to start zinnias and a few others next year. Trying to soak in as much knowledge as I can in preparation. Your videos are so informative and easy to follow!
I grew Lilliput Salmon, which grew beautifully - so dainty and cute! What I was really looking forward to was the Zinderella Peach, but I had poor germination and did not get the double blooms. So disappointed in that. I swear, my mom bought cheap Zinnia seeds from Dollar Tree and had better luck! But we grow Zinnias every year, because they are generally so easy and delightful to have in the garden.
I'll have to give those a try, I love the dainty little blooms too! I don't grow the zinderellas anymore either for the same reasons, always disappointed!
I grew mostly Floret zinnias this year, and the ones that weren't eaten by rabbits did really well. 😅 I'm sorry yours didn't turn out like you hoped! I'm going to try Queenie Red Lime next year because yours look so good!
I am wondering if you had a seed mix-up somehow from Floret. My Alpen Glow were very tall and all pastel shades. The flowers also were larger than yours looked. The germination rate for me was 100%! I think something must have happened. Try again!
Question: can I still save the seeds from the zinnias that got the powder mould disease? Or is it going to carry the disease for next year? Also thank you so much for all the info!! Absolutely love watching your videos! 🙏🏻☺️
"IM GOING TO TURN THE CAMERA AROUND AND SHOW YOU HOW DRY THE SOIL IS." (Emphasis mine.) That, and the shots of your beautiful garden, are why we are here. -Katherine
Hi Bri! I found the Queenie series gets PM sooner than others for me here in Wisconsin zone 6a. I also grew all the Floret varieties and was not thrilled with Alpenglo, but I LOVED Precious metals and Golden Hour. They were huge, taller than all my other varieties and they were the very last ones to get mildew. I also love Benarys giant lime.
I fell in love with zinnias last year but this year only got two plants to come up (life got super busy). I’m already planning for next year and hoping to get a lot of really healthy plants. I also tend to like the more muted shades but might have to try some deep reds to go with my Cornel Bronze dahlia that stole my heart this year. I have several seed packets in the Queeny series and some Floret that I didn’t plant because I knew this year was not going to be a great garden year due to life. I’d like to try some Oklahoma and maybe a Benary or two.
I successfully grew floret’s Victorian wedding series and started them indoors. Collecting seeds to grow them next year. Maybe I’ll direct seed some of them for ease.
I really loved the Benary’s Pink this year. I have very poor germination from Floret’s seeds as well (25-50%, Alpenglow and Precious Metals). I’ve also loved the Oklahoma series this year. Thanks for another helpful and instructional video.
Thank you for this video, from seed collection to getting double blooms. The only zinnias I can't get to double bloom for me are the Zinderella. I will try direct sowing those next spring. I had read it was because we got hot so fast here in N MS, Zone 7B/8A, and our hot nights. A podcaster in a similar climate says she got them to double bloom by direct seeding. I never see Zinderella Zinnias in flower farm bouquets here, so I suspect they've had the same problem. I've always waited for zinnias to brown before collecting seed, but this will make it easier. We've already had our first light frosts 2 mornings this week, but the ground was warm enough so that plants didn't seem to be affected.
I love that giant red! So many peeps don’t like red, I’m utterly not one of those people 😂 My Floret seeds didn’t do so well this season, huge let down. 😢 Hopefully next season it will be better. I struggle with how much to water.
Interesting, my Alpenglow ended up very pale peaches and oranges no pink at all! I was hoping for a little more blush, but the precious metals gave me that, they were really great performers for me. They did age really nicely to have soft green bottom petals which was pretty! I’m going to save seeds and see what happens next year, but definitely going to do some of the lime red because 😍
I’m only a few minutes in, but you’ve articulated what I haven’t liked so far about my Queeny Limes. Each year, I only get singles! I want to get the full ones that almost resemble Pom Poms. If there’s something I’m not doing, or something to look out for, please let me know!😊
This was very helpful, and I'm excited to have fewer things to start indoors next year. When you direct sow, how many seeds do you plant in each spot and how far apart do you typically plant them?
I like the Queenie series but the Queenie reds are my least favorite. Too washed out for me. I thought I wouldn't like the yellow Queenies but ended up loving them. I mostly grow Benary Giants and wasn't planning on trying any other varieties because I absolutely love them, but you made me want to try Oklahomas. I'm so grateful to you for your original zinnia video where I learned they do best without a lot of water. These days I rarely water my zinnias, and they have been so healthy and happy. It kills me when I see people giving advice online to water zinnias weekly or even daily. 😱 I'd love to learn about herbal cocktails!
I grew about 6 varieties of zinnia this year, and Benary's Giant Salmon-Rose was my favorite. I also grew some Floret zinnias, the Precious Metals mix, and while I did love a few of the flowers it produced, 8 out of 10 were boring, kinda duds. I wish her selections were more stable. Why don't you like Red? Next year I'm gardening mostly for hummingbirds and native pollinators, so I'm gonna have to learn how to work with reds in the landscape. I'll probably try a red zinnia variety, maybe a single, with easy access to the nectar for the hummingbirds.
Can you make a list of all of the perennial varieties you grow for cut flowers? We want to convert a section of our cutting garden to perennial. It’s for personal use only.
Thanks for the great video. In the Pacific Northwest it seems too wet for too long to wait until it warms, are there best transplant methods for zinnias?
Love the all Queenie series and Cupcake series. I do not care for Floret first of all too expensive and then they do not perform well for the cost. THANKS for the info.❤
can you be more specific about your water regime? what gph is your dripline and how long do you leave it on for when you do water? what is your annual rainfall? Here in zone 7 high desert New Mexico, we are also on clay, so our situation is similar to yours in ways. we use both .24 gph dripline and .74 gph.
Hi, regarding direct sowing, my beds have a lot of sow/pill bugs and slugs in them in the spring and they completely devour any zinnia seedlings I plant. Do you not have any bugs in your soil? Sprinkling crushed eggshell dust and D earth didn’t do much to deter them. I ended up having to grow most of my Zinnias in pots but even with pinching the flower heads were underdeveloped. I tried Queen lime and zinderella peach from Westcoast seeds this year and was disappointed in them frankly. Their apricotta cosmos were beautiful however so I’m saving those seeds for next year.
I didn't have luck with Floret's precious metals either :( Not sure what happened there. I had luck with my seeds I had harvested in the past. I was wondering if red and orange are dominant colors because florets precious metals had a lot of orange and orangeish red?
Grew the entire Floret Originals collection as well as saved zinnia seed from last year. Saving seed from everything as I do every year, but the Floret Originals will not be in the protected field next year as there was not enough of a consistency to trust them as a staple and take up valuable real estate.
so a question on forms: if i save from doubles does this ensure i get more double seeds? and likewise for singles? if i collect seed from singles will i get more singles?
Is it OK to wait until the flower head is dry to harvest the seeds? That's what I have been doing but want to improve my harvest if I can. As always love your content. Right now doing relief work in Florida so will harvest when I return home.
I've heard a few concerns about the Floret Farm zinnia germination rates and I've always wondered if it because she uses blue bottle flies for pollination. I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know flies, even syrphid flies, are not nearly as efficient pollinators as bees since they don't actively collect pollen for their young and are considered "accidental pollinators". I'd be curious to know if people have had better luck with germination rates with the same varieties that have been open pollinated.
I agree! Bri, please do an herbal cocktail class. You have such wonderful combinations of plants and herbs and you. Are about our planet with your soil food health knowledge.
