6 rules for growing zinnia seedlings from seeds at home

Annual zinnias, which decorate the garden with all their colors, can bloom until the autumn frosts. But at the beginning of summer they are painfully sensitive to low temperatures, so they are planted in open ground only when it becomes warm. That is why it is customary to grow them through seedlings, and so that they do not disappoint, you need to adhere to the following six rules.

Planting material

For a guaranteed result, you need store-bought seeds no older than 4 years (in the second year, germination reaches 95%) from a trustworthy manufacturer.

But you can also use your own seeds from varieties without the F1 mark - which means a hybrid, and flowers with this method of propagation are not able to inherit parental characteristics. And since zinnias are able to cross-pollinate, new plants can be surprising in their variation in characteristics. For example, by growing crimson and yellow zinnias side by side, you can, without planning this at all, get light-colored flowers with speckles.

Zinnia seeds ripen 60–65 days after flowering; after collection, they are sorted into groups:

Flat corymbs are flattened brown seeds with a groove at the top. Only non-double zinnias, that is, ordinary zinnias, grow from them, even if they were collected from a double flower.
Spear-shaped - darker than the above, have the formula of a “granule” tapering towards the base. They are known for their low germination rate, but if you take the trouble to grow them, double and semi-double flowers will bloom.
Elongated - elongated gray seeds with an awl-shaped tail.As a result, they turn into double flowers with full heads.

It is noteworthy that all three varieties of seeds can ripen in different proportions in one box.

Timing

The age of seedlings ready for transfer to open ground is on average 4-6 weeks, which, given the already mentioned intolerance of the crop to cold, gives the following sowing dates:

Southern regions - early April.
Middle zone and Moscow region - mid-April.
The Urals, Siberia and Leningrad region - late April.

As for the Lunar calendar, the 1st, 5th, 7th, 18th-20th are favorable for planting zinnia seedlings in any year, and the 9th, 21st and 24th are unfavorable. However, botanists never tire of stating that there is no official evidence of the influence of the celestial body movement cycles on the quality of growing seedlings of any garden crops.

Substrate composition

An excellent choice is separate peat pots for 1-2 plants, but in their absence, fill the common container with soil at least 10 cm deep.

You can buy a substrate in a store - just take universal soil for flower seedlings (sometimes called "for Asteraceae"). Or you can prepare it yourself. The main thing is that it turns out loose, light and with a neutral pH level. A mixture of humus, turf soil, coarse river sand and peat taken in equal parts has such qualities.

It is also noteworthy that due to the natural high immunity, it is not necessary to pre-disinfect the soil for sowing zinnia.

Necessary conditions for development

The fewer transplants zinnia undergoes in its life, the better.Therefore, initially, holes 1 cm deep are created for seeds in pre-moistened soil at a distance of 5–8 cm from one another. You can place 1 or 2–3 grains in each, but in the second case, as soon as the sprouts appear, the excess ones are removed, leaving only one and the strongest. Then the planted seeds are lightly sprinkled with soil and watered with a spray bottle.

Creating a greenhouse effect under glass or film is not necessary, but if drafts are possible where the planting container is located, then it is better to play it safe.

Zinnia seedlings, depending on the freshness and quality of the seeds, appear in 2–8 days.

In order for the vegetation cycle of plants to have the most favorable start, the following conditions are required:

The air temperature before seed germination is within the range of +22…26 °C.
The air temperature after the sprouts appear is +18…20 °C during the day and +16…18 °C at night.
Clear diffused light 12–14 hours a day with mandatory additional lighting in cloudy weather during the day.
Watering to prevent the soil from drying out.

If zinnia seedlings begin to stretch out, you can help them by deepening them, in which soil, without compacting, can be poured onto the adventitious roots that have formed and appear above the surface.

Picking

The strong root system of zinnia adapts relatively easily after picking, but before planting in the ground it is better to do it only once - when the plants acquire 1 or 2 pairs of true leaves. Normally, by this time the seedlings should grow to 10 cm.

Now each flower is given an individual container with a volume of 200–250 ml.

When transferring, you need to try not to destroy the earthen lump. In a new place, the seedlings must be buried down to the cotyledon leaves, lightly compacting the soil.

1.5 weeks after picking, it is advisable to feed zinnia seedlings with liquid complex mineral fertilizer.

Low and medium-sized varieties of zinnias need pinching, which promotes proper formation, enhances branching and prevents stretching. Pinching is performed on 4–5 pairs of true leaves.

Hardening

It is a must if you want to keep zinnia seedlings healthy and alive. They start it 2-2.5 weeks before transplanting into open ground, but provided that the street has steadily warmed up to +15 °C or higher. The first days it is enough to simply open the window for a couple of hours, then the containers with zinnia are taken out to the balcony or street for half an hour or an hour, gradually increasing the time spent in the fresh air.

In conclusion, it is worth adding that the most suitable neighbors for zinnia in landscape design are marigolds, small-flowered chrysanthemums and bells.