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Zinnia growing tips, why zinnias flop, powdery mildew on zinnias, proper zinnia spacing, succession planting zinnias, growing zinnias in heat, beginner flower gardening advice 🌸 In this video, I’m sharing the real truth about zinnias — they’re easy if you respect the heat and stop babying them.
In this video:
• Why zinnias thrive in heat
• The real reason they flop
• Why spacing matters more than you think
• What causes powdery mildew
• Why overwatering makes things worse
• Why they can look awkward at first
• How succession planting keeps blooms coming
Zinnias aren’t complicated — but they do have rules. And once you understand them, they’ll reward you all summer long.
#Zinnias #ZinniaGrowingTips #PowderyMildew #FlowerGardening #CutFlowerGarden #BeginnerGardening #SummerFlowers #SuccessionPlanting #GardenTips #GrowFlowers #HomeGarden #zone8garden
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0:00 Intro
1:34 Zinnias Are Eay
2:39 Why They Flop
4:47 Why Spacing Matters
6:44 Powdery Mildew
8:29 They Don’t Like To Be Babied
9:39 What Makes Them Produce
11:51 They Look Awkward
12:51 Succession Planting
14:28 Outro
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Planting Zone 8a Wylie, Texas
She’s a Mad Gardener is a YouTube channel exploring projects in the home including but not limited to home gardening, DIY decorating, holiday decor, easy recipes, and so much more.
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47 Comments
I love the look of zinnia flowers but whew that seems like too much work!!
As my screen name says, I'm in Georgia (Northwest Georgia) and I've always grown zinnias in my garden. I don't start the seeds indoors. When I have planted them, I plant the seeds directly where I want them to grow. I have planted them alongside our vegetables, and between them but each year we have so many that have wild seeded, I no longer plant them in the garden unless I want a few colors that I haven't grown before. I find letting them sprout and grow when nature feels it is the right time has done well for us. I have occasionally transplanted them to space them out better, but generally allow them to grow as wildly and abundantly as they wish, as long as they do not impede our vegetable growing space. We've typically got hot, humid (and LONG) summers but do not struggle with powdery mildew on the zinnias. TBF, I also don't plant any of my suseptible squash or cucumbers in the same area as the zinnias so that might help reduce transmission.
never knew they needed to be cut back!! to produce more flowers!
Mildew and rabbits eating the new sprouts are my difficulties in central indiana. I can fence it off from the rabbits at least. Thanks for the info, very helpful!!
Georgia 8A. I do not like the look of the powdery mildew I get here. The plant will be doing so well and flowering, I can’t bring myself to pull it!😢
When visiting my elderly mother at her addition on my brothers house, I threw my used coffee grounds out across the flower bed daily for a week. My sister in law decided I had killed her zinnias with my coffee grounds. Is that likely?
I'm zone 4, I"m so afraid to put all my eggs in one basket by direct sowing in case they just dont' have time to get blooming before summer is over.
Thanks, this well be my second year, I was happy with my first year, but I will now be happier this year!
Thank you for the hints
Great info! Thank you so much! You might want to get a bigger, more comfortable stool to sit on as your constant shifting back and forth was quite disconcerting. But your advice was great!
So what you are telling me is that I got very very lucky last year…. I bought them on a whim from the dollar store. Sowed them in soil blocks…. forgot about them, because I ran out of space. I left them on the edge of a raised planter bed in the tray and then finally planted out the sad root bound, foot tall single flower plants in the middle of July. They then flourished until October without a single bout of powdery mildew even though they were surrounded on all sides by curcurbits covered in it. Sigh….I was so excited to sow them again this year, I was thinking they were bomb proof.
I had seen to pinch zinnias at the top once they have 2-3 mature leaf sets (so not including the cotyledons). That's what I do and they do great branching.
I wish they were deer resistant
#9…. the deer🦌🦌 eat mine and….my Marigolds 😒
I plant in pots or storage totes. I overseed and need to prune more. Thank you.
Thank you! This video is just what I needed. Part of my problem is here in the PNW I doubt our soil ever gets to 80F. So I will just have to wait for a super growing season to get a good crop, knowing it is not my fault.
Nope no one ever said any of this. Thank you!! I am planting Zinnias for the first time this year.
Enjoyed your video and learned much. I grew zinnias for the first time last year. I have incredibly rich soil without the addition of any fertilizer. I planted them to attract pollinators for my gardens. I planted in full sun, and did nothing after thinning. They thrived and were excellent attractors for pollinators. I have a milkweed garden for monarch butterflies, and was amazed at how many monarchs enjoyed the zinnias. I planted once in June and had blooms until the first frost. I live in southern Missouri (zone 6A) and will expand my zinnia garden this year because of the ease of growing.
Bravery is the key to cutting for sure! I always feel bad but then the branching happens and I’m AMAZED by all the flowers!
Thank you!
I grow them in western Romania and I haven't been very successful with them, to be honest. I grow them straight in the garden rather than a bed, and that's one of the challenges. No matter how well I clean the earth, the local weeds are so potent and so aggressive, they usually come out before the zinnias have had a time to sprout, or overcrowd them as they grow. I also didn't space them, I just dumped the seeds and hoped that mother nature will do her thing. I was wondering if you have any advice regarding growing them straight in the ground rather than in a bed.
Only problem I have had with zinnias is wildlife (rodents) eating them. I love zinnias, but I've had to go with vincas instead during the summer because wildlife doesn't care about vincas. But my zinnias did great before they were eaten.
I could put tulle over the beds and pots containing zinnias. But then I want to enjoy looking at the flowers during the summer and not having to keep them covered up.
I grow them indoors until they are strong enough to go out otherwise they will just be food for slugs and snails.
The best video I have ever seen on planting zinnias. Thank you!!
I love Zinnias, but I don’t have a lot of sun in my backyard. I grew some last year but they were gangly probably because of not getting enough direct sunlight. Thank you for all your helpful advice.❤️
I thought they were self seeding? I went to a flower farm and got a large bouquet– when they were spent , I threw them out in the garden(Nov ) they came up randomly in May(Im in central Texas) They were GORGEOUS!!! 5 ft. Tall!! I knew to cut them early and they branched beautifully through Thanksgiving. I can't wait for Spring– I'm planning to put them in more places this year!❤
What can we do if we have a coastal pattern of warm late April into May and then June Gloom? I’ve had tomatoes take off, and then in June become completely mildewed. We just plant in July and pray? I’m pretty far north so yeah, sometimes warm into September. But October will be cold. I do love the antique style zinnias though
I like 'Profusion' zinnias in pots and window boxes. I grow them especially for the Goldfinches. So colorful!
I have had them come up as volunteers because seed heads dried and distributed in Fall. Sometimes I do move them once they are over an inch tall. They grow best in the same soil I use for my vegetables. I always have them in the sun, of course.
You want lots of blooms on anything? Epsom salts – but not when you plant the seed. When you have a seedling at least 4 inches tall. This goes for vegetables, too. But there is also a liquid fertilizer concentrate literally called BIG BLOOM. (Mix with water, spray foliage in evening.)
Here in 6B they really get going by July 4th. And are still blooming in early October. I finally pull them out at first real freeze.
They get HUGE for me. I have had to put supports on them. I use shorter bamboo poles and tie them if I have a heavy stem that is leaning. The pole gets hidden inside the foliage and blooms.
. . . I fertilize them every couple weeks when they are very large. A phosphate heavy one like BIG BLOOM. A liquid concentrate spray on foliage works immediately. They will bloom and bloom.
I save the seeds as they dry out and put them in paper bags – noting what color they were. Obviously seeds from my garden are much hardier as they are already accustomed to my conditions.
I had your video on in the background until you got to initial pruning and sat down to pay attention to what you advised (completely agree with you 😊) I’m in Zone 5b (IL master gardener) – I grow and seed harvest giant zinnias yearly but never thought about precisely what I was doing specifically for them, as I treated them as I do perennial coneflowers for initial pruning to encourage bushiness, infrequent / no fertilization and soaker hose water only if bone dry. I plant in mid to late June (unless it’s been much warmer spring then I’ll plant beginning of June), and plant more each month through September (Oct is usually quite warm here) and those last zinnias remain until first frost in Nov.
Overall I’d had good results with giant zinnias (and giant marigolds) by not being overly concerned with them: pretty much toss in and forget until pruning and seed harvesting.
New sub to hear what else works for others!
Fantastic advice. We’ve been doing it wrong for 8 years now, time for some modifications, thank you!
Thank you for all this good info. I used to have zinnias every year and then I moved and for what ever reason they would not do well, now I know why. I am looking forward to growing them again.
Thank you ❤
thank you! I have a few packets this year and I've never grown them before.
EXCELLENT INFORMATION, YOU GO GIRL
I regret not discovering zinnias sooner! I start seeds in paper egg cartons inside; move them to a bigger container when they are bigger milk carton or whatever and when they are a good size they go into the garden properly. Somehow they thrive. This is a great video. I was afraid to cut them my first time. Good luck
We’re going to need some HOUSEPLANT videos!! Look how gorgeous they are!!
I planted early and very close together. I produced for a flower wholesaler. They wanted early which meant I beat other growers and they wanted long stems and I was able to have much longer stems than others. I staggered my plantings so I had new plants coming on as others were past their prime. I actually had the tallest to reach 6’8”! This meant that they came and went quickly but this was more profitable for me.
Definitely good things to remember for max blooms !!!
This was so helpful! I love growing Zinnias and I’ve had some of these problems! And now I know! Thank you!
Independence, Missouri Zone 6b
I had 40-50 self seed and transplanted nearly all of them and they all did great IF in a full sun area.
Excellent video. Can’t wait to see your video when you get ready to direct sow them. 🤗
Love zinnias. I've never planted any from seed because I live in a condo and have limited space. I'm in zone 7A but have a bed out front that gets lots of sun so it should be a good place for them, other folks around here have had them and they do great. Wish me luck, thanks for the video. 🌞🤞💮🏵️
The butterflies love them.
Wow! You know your stuff. I didn't know that I should be cutting early and spacing. Thanks for sharing your tips. I'm in Woodinville Washington zone 8b. Should I start seeds in doors now?
Powdery mildew is from watering the leaves to much. Zinnias are great in a vase and last long. Crowding has never been a problem. They look so great all those many colors together. Air flow is not a problem. People stop their cars to look at my flower gardens. Maybe in Texas its like this, but in Utah in my garden, gets a nice breeze my house is white and 3 stories. So my Zinnias are in flower heaven, along with my perrinials, flowering bushes, and ground cover. Just bragging!
Very good tips