My 70 ft zinnia row along the front of my garden was direct sown. See the link.

Just make sure you sow after risk of frost has passed.

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: direct sown zinnias

I just saw my earlier post, "outside the outside". LOL. I should be, "outside the house".

I'll check your link later. It's being prevented by office firewall.

Thanks!

Quick question. Do zinnia plants perform well inside the house? I'm planning to bring one in. It's almost 3' tall now.

v1rtu0s1ty,

"Quick question. Do zinnia plants perform well inside the house?"

Quick answer: no. You don't see zinnias listed in any houseplant books for good reason. They require more light than is usually available indoors. I use banks of fluorescent lights for my indoor zinnia gardening.

"I'm planning to bring one in. It's almost 3' tall now."

Zinnias resent being transplanted, to the degree that it disturbs and injures their roots. In 2006 I moved several scabiosa flowered zinnia bushes inside because I had cross-pollinated them with giant flowered zinnias and their seeds hadn't matured yet. They were a bit grumpy about the transplant, but I had them in big 1½-gallon plastic pots, so they still had plenty of root volume.

But they brought a whole ecosystem in with them, including aphids and ladybugs. Apparently aphids multiply faster indoors than outdoors. Their population exploded, despite the ladybugs and their voracious larva. I used a small vacuum cleaner meant for cleaning computer keyboards to suck up the aphids in large numbers on a daily basis, but some always survived. (I would use a systemic insecticide today.)

I did mature the seedheads indoors and next Spring those hand-pollinated seeds rewarded me with my first views of marigold flowered zinnias, echinacea flowered zinnias, and sunflower flowered zinnias. It was worth it that one time, but I don't plan to bring in any zinnias that way again. Instead, I will bring in zinnia cuttings from chosen specimens and let them form their own little plants inside, hopefully under more controlled conditions. I already have one zinnia cutting that has become a plant in a 5-inch square pot.

ZM

Thanks for the video Lynda! :) It's beautiful!

So I guess, 1/4" deep for the seeds in ground is fine. That's what I did when I direct sowed it in pots.

I have always direct sowed zinna seeds.....scatter seeds in an area,sprinkle lightly with a bit of soil and pat down......they come up so quickly(less than a week here)
plant when frost has passed in your location......i can't even imagine a summer without a bright patch of zinnias!

I'm so amazed with my zinnia. The flowers are still up and stems are sturdy. It's about 3' tall now.

Does someone like to do a seed swap on different zinnias?