TIPS FOR GROWING GIANT ZINNIAS | BRING DRAMA TO THE GARDEN

You see these giant zinnias that I have growing behind me? They're one of my absolute favorite things to grow during the warm season. They're going to attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and numerous pollinators. I really think that zinnias are easy to grow from seed. You should definitely give it a shot if you haven't. Let me show you the varieties that I'm growing this season, and I'm also going to give you a few tips on how to be successful in growing your own giant zinnias. What's up everybody? This is Scott from New Garden Road, and I'm here to inform, inspire, and elevate you. If you like this video, give it a big thumbs up and spread the word for me. While you're at it, subscribe and get notified for more gardening action. I started growing my own zinnias from seed a few years ago after trying to grow some from the nursery as I got them in transplants. What I noticed from those is they didn't really take off, they weren't that vigorous, and they just kind of sat there. I got a few blooms, but I just wondered if there were more possibilities. One of my friends was telling me that growing them from seed is the trick. So I gave it a shot, and I haven't looked back since. It's really easy to do. Once things warm up in the spring and you've passed your last average frost date, you can start getting those planted directly in the soil. They will sprout and start to grow really rapidly. This year I'm growing a few varieties. One is called the Giant Coral. I was really surprised and delighted to see these orange ones pop out. Really really stunning, and I tell you what, the butterflies are loving them. One of the other varieties that I've always grown is the Scarlet. Now this is a really stunning Scarlet Red Zinnia that's going to stand out in the garden. When you're growing a lot of vegetables in the summer and your garden is full of all this greenery and this foliage, that's something that's really going to pop and create a dramatic look for your landscape. The other variety that I'm growing that hasn't really taken off just yet is a Giant Purple. I've grown some of these in the past, and I just wanted more. The ones that I had previously were honestly volunteer, so they just kind of happened. There are a few important things to take into consideration when you're growing zinnias. If you want to maximize flower production, you need to practice deadheading, and what that means is you're going to remove some of the spent blooms. As they begin to taper off and kind of wither or not look as good, you can consider pruning them out. There's a specific way you want to do it. At the base of that central stem, you're going to find a split where two new bloom heads will be forming, and that's about the place where you want to deadhead that flower. That is going to prioritize the energy of the plant into producing those new blooms, and that's what you want. You want it to keep on blooming. You're truly going to get multiple flowers throughout the season. I'll plant these flowers from seed in my garden in March, and it's likely they will be blooming into November. Now take into consideration I'm in central Texas. It's still really warm about that time of year, so that's not typical for everyone, but it just goes to show how prolific and abundant these flowers can be. One other tip that I want to give you for growing zinnias is consider staking them. So we had some pretty solid winds overnight, and you can see as these zinnias have gotten taller, even though I staked them low on the plant, as they begin to grow, that's not enough support for them at this time, and as they've started to lean, the flowers have started to bend. What I'm going to do is get in there with a taller stake, and I'm going to tie them off up high. That's going to give them the best support. They should adapt to that. You really want to control their growth. Keep them upright. Otherwise, they can kind of take over a space. They may fall on some other plants that you have growing next to them, and if you just want to keep some order, keep things tidy, as well as keep the overall circulation of your vegetables optimal, and that's really going to improve the drama that you're creating in your garden. My next tip would be fertilizing. You want to fertilize those zinnias. Keep them blooming. I like to foliar fertilize my crops with fish emulsion, liquid seaweed, and molasses. The NPK of the Neptune's Harvest fish fertilizer that I use is 241. That middle number corresponds to phosphorus, and that is responsible for fruits, flowers, and roots. In this case, we want to grow a bunch of these beautiful zinnias, so that phosphorus is going to help us to do so. I'll apply that foliar fertilization weekly, and that's going to keep them healthy, keep them fed, and keep them growing. I also want to recommend that you continue to side dress them with an organic granular fertilizer. That's going to be a slow-release form of nutrients that you can spread out at the base of the plant, lightly work into the soil, and it's going to release slowly as the plants are watered, as it rains, and that's going to give them another source of nutrients. Along with that, you'll be adding soil mass and feeding the soil. Remember, the soil is the stomach of the plant, and that is going to produce the healthiest plants when you are promoting the healthiest soil. Make sure you keep up with your watering. You want to do it regularly. I'm typically watering these twice a week with my drip system, and they're getting about two hours, so a good slow soaking twice a week, that seems to give them what they need. Now, when it's really hot and dry, I may have to do that three times a week, so just take into consideration their watering needs, but just know that they will continue to grow and thrive, producing beautiful flowers throughout the heat of summer, as long as you provide ample moisture. You want to look out for fungal diseases. That can be a really common issue with these plants. Powdery mildew is one that I can point out to you. There are several others. They may be difficult to identify specifically, but one trick that I want to convey to you is consider using an organic fungicide. I really like the Monterey brand Complete Disease Control, and I'll add that to my foliar fertilization regimen. So once a week, they're getting a preventative treatment of an organic fungicide. I may continue to see a little bit of the powdery mildew or some of these other leaf spot diseases, however, this is going to help keep them at bay, limit their proliferation, and that's going to promote the healthiest plants. You're really going to attract pollinators and beautiful butterflies. They're going to flock to these flowers throughout the day. Hummingbirds are another frequent visitor on my zinnias. A lot of times, I just hear them before I see them, and they may zoom past me before I get a glimpse. But just know that if you're growing zinnias, hummingbirds are going to find them, and they're going to be taken advantage of on a regular basis. Zinnias really make great cut flowers. They can last for days. You want to harvest them frequently, just as they're beginning to open up when they're not fully open, but almost. Go ahead and harvest them first thing in the morning, put them in a flower vase, and really enjoy that beauty throughout the day, throughout the week. Now check out some of these other awesome gardening videos on my channel. You can grow your own giant zinnias. Keep it organic.