why do they have to be potted????

general transplanting rules ... my version .. NOT plant specific ....

do it on a rainy day.. if you can ... or if you see a window of a few cloudy cool days ....

if not.. water the night before.. and the morning of.. then move them .. morning or evening.. not during the heat of the day ... and water them in heavy ... but dont crush the plants ...

use a trowel with a pointy end.. so you can take little pieces of soil with the seedlings.. and teaspoon also works nicely ... think dollar store..

dont get to anal on insisting on one seedling alone.. so what if 2 or 3 are together ...

and dont forget.. you can leave some right where they are ...

you have enough to experiment.. so go out there today ;.. and try moving a couple .. see how you do ...

then give them a few days or a week. and move some others.. etc ...

experiment and learn ... i remember my experiments going back 40 years... i dont remember what i read about the garden last week on the WWW ... trust me on that ....

there need not be special rules for Zs .... seedlings are seedlings.. and believe it or not.. rather forgiving... just do it .. presume you will lose some.. and be surprised how easy it ends up being and how successful you are ...

the most important thing.. when you disturb roots... is that you are in charge of ALL water until those roots settle down and start working again ...

ken

Thinning OR transplanting is best done when the seedlings have at least 2 sets of true leaves. Loosen the soil gently and lift holding on to the leaves, never the stems. Those with only seed cotyledons - like yours - are too young to be disturbed without damage.

Hello Oakley,

I don't usually transplant zinnias (because it is hard to avoid damaging their roots at least some), but I agree with what both Ken and GardenGal have said. I don't know about your local climate, but if there is still a danger of frost, you might try potting some of those seedlings up now. California Giants are a good old strain of zinnias, and I include them in my amateur zinnia breeding program because of their big plants, big blooms, and round-ended petals.

ZM

z7 Oklahoma Not sure why my zone disappeared next to my name.

Ken, I plant them in pots because they're pretty next to the porch. :) I have two large flowerbeds of Zinnias planted. They did great last year.

We've had some wonderful warm weather with lots of wind. I water the seedlings three times a day because of the heat and wind.

Last night we got a good rain which we haven't had in a while. Today is chilly and cloudy and will get to 70. Seedlings are transplanted.

Gardengal, I'm going to do it your and Zen's way when they get one or two more sets of leaves.

Question. Because the transplanted Zinnias may have suffered a slight shock, do I want to give them full sun like the ones in the ground, or less light?