Zinnia Season is Here

I feel like we are finally in flower season here. Beds are full and blooms are everywhere.

Zinnias

The sight of so many beds of zinnias in bloom are keeping my spirits lifted. Zinnias are one of the few flowers that are left to go to full bloom before harvesting- once harvested they do not mature anymore, so what you cut is what you get. If you harvest the blooms to soon when their necks are still to soft they will never stiffen up either. I can remember the days of never having enough zinnias and cutting those that where almost ready to later find that they always had soft necks.

The secret to big blooms and plenty of them is to feed your zinnias organically on a regular basis. You will be rewarded. We mix in slow release powder Rainbow organic fertilizer when preparing our beds. If planting seeds, after they germinate and are a couple of inched tall,  we use liquid Earth Juice "Grow" fertilizer to water them and get them off to a great start. We repeat the "Grow" fertilizer application every 2-3 weeks until they begin to bloom. Once they start to bloom we switch to the Earth Juice"Bloom" fertilizer that we use every 2-3 weeks throughout the season. This is the secret to big huge blooms all season.

We continue to plant zinnias until the first of August so you have plenty of time to get in on the fun–

The Benary's Lime Green Zinnia just started blooming and they really are gorgeous in the garden- their light color really makes them pop.

I still plant Oklahoma's Zinnias- the smaller versions of the Giants because they add so much to the garden and a  bouquet. Lots of growers don't bother because they have a smaller bloom. But I personally love what they add to bouquets. Bouquet of all small zinnias are precious on kitchen tables. They also have great colors like ivory–it is gorgeous and the white doesn't get old and dirty quick like most other white flowers.

Zinnias are great old garden flowers. They are fairly easy to grow as long as you give them full sun and cut them often. If you have a sunny spot I recommend brighten your day with some zinnias.  

The perfect complimentary plant for zinnias is Mrs Burn's Lemon Basil as a foliage filler that will fill your home with the fragrance of lemons and last 7-10 days in the vase.

You can find the seeds and fertilizers on my store at www.shoptgw.com

Zinnias make everyone smile!

Lisa