all the new growth look unaffected.. so the damage to the old leaves could have been weeks ago ... perhaps before you ever got it.. or the last cold snap ...

i dont see any reason to do anything with it.. except get it off the blacktop before the sun fries it ...

ken

ps: the easy remedy for ugly old leaves... is to pinch them off ...

Agree with Ken - it looks fine other than some minor leaf damage (sunburn or cold damage) -- just clip off the old leaves and get it planted.

they are Magellan variety. some of the flowers petals had some brown spotting. most likely from all the excessive overhead watering (i bought these at lowes on clearance). they're pretty root bound as well..

I snipped off most of the affected foliage and blooms to encourage more growth. also broke up the root ball. planted them in large 20 inch+ pots. hoping they do well, they're beautiful flowers (hurt to snip them all off!).

I'm assuming I can save some seeds from them? if so, would it be best to let a flower go to seed now, or in late summer/fall? just assuming if I save seed now, it might effect the bloom production (from what I've read).

Based on what I see in my area box store plant department on clearance = being allowed to wilt, even start to shrivel before being watered - I'd be willing to bet the discoloration you are seeing is from pre-purchase instance(s) of the plants collapsing and burning due to lack of water.

And here plants don't have to be on clearance first to be subjected to this, may be on clearance in the first place because of damage caused by inadequate watering.

The big box stores never water or water too much. I see many plants on racks just dead. The Christmas cactus I bought in December I had to make a wick system to get the excess water out of the planter. They do not train their workers on the ins and outs in the garden department. They just don’t care.

Most box stores carry plants on consignment - what they don't sell goes into the trash or back to the supplier and they are not out of pocket either way. So there is no incentive for good care once they reach the sales floor, which is why purchasing plants at a box store is always going to be a toss up as to quality and condition.

Hi Stevie,

" I'm assuming I can save some seeds from them? if so, would it be best to let a flower go to seed now, or in late summer/fall? just assuming if I save seed now, it might effect the bloom production (from what I've read). "

You can save seed from the Magellan varieties (and most other varieties as well). It is probably best to remove the fading blooms now to encourage more blooms. As the end of season approaches in the Fall, you can let them go to seed and by that time the zinnia bushes should have become large enough to produce a lot of zinnia blooms and a lot of zinnia seeds. I recommend saving seeds from your better plants, to get some improvement in the next generation. I breed zinnias as a hobby, and that strategy works for me. (I also do a lot of cross-pollination.)

Those brown spots could have been a common fungus disease of zinnias, namely Alternaria.

If the brown spots become a problem, you might consider an anti-fungal spray. Otherwise, the common wisdom is, "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

ZM

An update:

So it's been about 2 weeks since i transplanted the plants, i trimmed off all the leaves that didn't look healthy.. but a few days later the leaf spotting seems to continue to come back/spread, so i'm thinking it has to be some diseases, like leaf spot or blight (perhaps leaf spot), i sprayed them with potassium bicarbonate, but i think that potassium is most effective at treating PM not leaf spot/blight (i could be wrong)..

I am now trying neem oil instead.. plants are growing and producing some blooms, but it keeps reappearing and continue spreading slowly.

The pot with the healthiest of the bunch (just got some heavy downpour, so they're wet)

The pots that have zinnias that continue to reappear after removing the effected growth.

I am still waiting for my zinnias to flower. It is my first year planting them from seed and they are light in color to me. I don’t know if they are supposed to have light green or darker green leaves
It looks like you need a stronger fungus spray to try. I read you need to try to water them without wetting the leaves and when it rains we have no control of wet leaves. I assume that doesn’t help the issue you have. The pictures looking down at them to me look nice. They are flowering. I had an awful something on my two fushia plants I bought from a big box store. They dropped black leaves until I tossed the poor plants. I did not want it to spread to my other plants if it could. Good luck.

Hi Stevie,

" i sprayed them with potassium bicarbonate, but i think that potassium is most effective at treating PM not leaf spot/blight (i could be wrong). "

You are not wrong, the potassium bicarbonate is primarily for Powdery Mildew. The brown decay on your zinnia leaves is probably fungal. I use Bayer Advanced Disease Control for my higher value (to me) zinnia specimens. It is not cheap, so I don't use it on all of my zinnias -- just my better breeders. It is very effective, because it is systemic. Meaning that it is absorbed into the zinnia sap and transmitted all over the plant. Since it is absorbed into the plant, rain won't wash it off. It becomes part of the plant. That also means that new growth is protected for an extended period of time. However, it probably should be re-applied in two weeks or so. Zinnias can be fast growers.

" I am now trying neem oil instead.. "

Neem oil is recommended for nearly everything by organic gardeners. I am not an organic gardener, so I am skeptical about Neem. Incidentally, Neem Oil has been outlawed in the United Kingdom.

I have had more than one zinnia mutation and I have combined those genes by multiple cross pollinations to get some new zinnia flower forms. Click on the pics to see larger versions.

I have other forms as well. I will continue crossing hybrids with other hybrids to get new genetic combinations. I am having fun breeding new zinnias.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)