Zinnias just love this hot Texas weather. If you are going to the effort of improving the soil and watering, buy some zinnia seed packets and lightly rake the seeds in.......you will soon have plenty of flowers, (choking out the weeds) and will have set up a small micro-climate. Even if the purchased plants do not make it, they will nursemaid the seedlings with some shade. Zinnias really do best from seed rather than transplant.

Thanks! I'll definitely do that.

I don't think anything is more hardy in my yard, here in San Antonio, than Zinnia. They are just a super hardy plant here in Texas.

If your leaves are drooping a bit, that's natural. I just transplanted about 20 seedlings from one clay infested part of my yard to another and everyone of them drooped for a couple of days. But,,, in the end, every single one of the transplants made it.

Going back to where my old patch used to be, I got 20 more coming up that need to be moved. Which brings up another point. They self seed, so they will come back year after year.

Nice plant the Zinnia.

Thats normal. Just give them a little time, they'll be fine. While your watering a lot to get them started try to water the ground only and not get the bloom's constantly wet.

It could be with all the wind that they need more water because they were getting dehydrated. They're still getting established, so keep the ground around them moist but not wet until they're doing well on their own. Mulching around them will also help conserve moisture around their roots.

i'm glad to know they do better from seeds than plants
i've tried to plant the plants several times and have not had gread success!!

When I first plant something new, I water it daily for a few days, then every other day for a few times, then twice a week. Gradually cutting back until they're established and can be watered like everything else. At first they just don't have enough root system and need extra water.

Carol

I agree with seeding zinnias. When it gets hot, they can go from seed to flower in 6-8 weeks! Zinnias don't like to be transplanted, but I buy some every year and sometimes I get lucky, other times I don't. Here is one unlucky problem:

Do you know what variety of zinnia you've planted? Did you plant them in the same bed where they died last year? Did you plant them before we got some heavy rain?

I ask these questions because I love zinnias but can't grow them in most of my yard. I've planted shortstuff and they died off from fungus.

At first they look wilted, then I notice pill bugs, one year I was convinced the pill bugs were destroying them, but they were just eating the dead plant stuff from the fungus. If you think it might possibly be fungal, immediately remove the bottom leaves so they do not touch the soil and water gently.

Some varieties are hardier than others. I've had much better results with Magellan than with some of the others that have nice big flowers.

ikillflowers, the landscape mix is VERY porous and will not hold water well at all. So water often until your zinnias have enough roots to go through the landscape mix and get into more moist soil. ALSO, try the profusion zinnias. They are small but are real troupers in the July/Aug. heat. and they come in a "profusion" of colors. They are not as prone to get mildew either.

Zinnia seeds have to be the easiest thing I ever planted. I just tore up a flower and they came up all over. I did get powdery mildew but it was due to all the heavy rain we had last year and it wasn't terrible. I even took some to the physical therapy clinic and sprinkled them into the area out in front of the door that was bare dirt and by the time I finished therapy everyone was enjoying the flowers, lol. It was so depressing to sit and look at that spot while I waited on my appointments, lol. I had bought a few plants of them and they did not transplant very well. The seedlings were much healthier.

I bought some Profusion zinnias a couple weeks ago in six packs. I stuck them (all 36 of them) in the ground, watered them and basically walked away. We have received some rain, but they're all doing great and growing. I'm sure after the rain we received today, they will really take off.

I am from Michigan, so just about everything I have tried to grow in Central Texas doesn't do well. I have a bag of zinnia seeds given to me. Can I put them in the ground in October? I have my Miracle Grow landscape dirt all ready to put down. Should I wait until February or March? I am totally backwards with my planting schedule here!!!

Redmaj, welcome to Texas! About the zinnias they are annuals so wait until mid March to plant seeds outdoors.