Growing: “Blue Point” Zinnias (and a tip for a quick and easy Zinnia border)

Hello everyone, I hope you had a nice weekend, and if you’re on the east coast, enjoyed the brief warm-up. As if to remind us it’s still February, this morning the thermometer took another plunge into arctic-like temps and the wind is fiercely blowing. I can’t think of a better time to imagine the sizzling warmth of summer and talk about those heat-loving annuals, Zinnias, can you?

I’ve written about Zinnias before, and if you follow this blog you’ve probably noticed them in the background of many of my photos. Like so many of you, they’re one of my favorite summer annuals. Every garden should have them as they offer such effortless pops of color…

…not to mention the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds go bananas over them.

Each spring, I like to try a new collection of seeds and start them in our little greenhouse. Besides getting a jump on the season, starting from seed allows me to place them out exactly where I want them to grow–filling in the gaps of our garden.

Last summer I experimented with the “Blue Point” florist blend of from Renee’s Garden and whoa, Nelly, they were huge. They kind of took over that section of the garden to the point of embarrassment when delivery people tried to walk by to get to our doorstep. Jesse casually remarked one day that maybe I shouldn’t plant Zinnias in the front garden again. Since he doesn’t usually offer suggestions or advice about the garden, they must have seemed very out of control!

I admit, they did start to look a bit raggedy towards the end of summer, but man oh man they bloomed their little heads off all the way into November. {EDIT: I just realized I use a variation of the phrase “bloomed their heads off” in so many of my posts. What’s that about? It’s kind of grim! ;)}

OK, so I’ve just described the “Blue Point” Zinnias I started from seed in the greenhouse in spring. But let’s talk about these other colorful Zinnias seen above and in the photos below. This is a collection from seeds I gathered in our garden the previous seasons. The idea to plant them in one long swath (about 25 feet) happened one day on a whim and the whole bed was prepared and seeded in just a few hours with a little help from Jesse. It’s very easy to do–in fact this method is one we use to start all of our new beds. All you need is cardboard (with the labels/tape removed), a hose, and lots of soil/compost. First, lay the cardboard down–and yes it goes right on top of the grass–and then water it down with the hose so the cardboard is soggy and doesn’t blow away. Next, pile up your soil/compost (I like to use a blend of topsoil and compost which I have delivered in spring) on top of the cardboard. I typically pile up about 8″+ of compost, keeping in mind it does settle and become more compact. It’s best to work in sections and if you have a helper it will go a lot quicker! The following spring I use an edger on the new beds to give them a crisp border. (If you want a crisp edge at the same time you create your bed, then edge out the outline first, removing the grass, and fill in center with the cardboard. Hope that makes sense.) Tips: one single layer of cardboard will be all you need, but don’t skimp on the layer of compost. It should be as deep as you can make it–like a raised bed. My 8″+ is a guesstimate. Use your best judgement. Overlap edges of cardboard so no grass can sneak through. Newspaper will also work in place of cardboard but use several sheets at a time so it’s a thicker layer. I like to rake my compost so it’s higher in the center of the bed like a little hill. It will eventually settle. Every year, top off bed with more compost. 

Once the new Zinnia bed was created, I broadcast-sowed my collected seeds. In this case, I didn’t worry so much where they landed as the entire bed was going to be Zinnias, but I did spread them out if they clumped up too much in one area. I covered up the seeds with a light layer of soil and kept that bed moist until they got established. I found that although they were a couple weeks “behind” the others by not being started in the greenhouse first, the summer heat caught them up quickly. And didn’t they look pretty? The best part is now I have a prepared bed rarin’ to go for the row of Sweet Peas I plan to grow there this spring!

{Another EDIT: The bed that I sowed the seeds directly did require some thinning out as the plants grew. They weren’t discarded but were transplanted into the gaps in the border. Also, Zinnias like a good pinching out as they grow to encourage branching. Our pinching was kindly done for me by one of our resident bunny rabbits who used our Zinnia bed as a buffet one morning and nibbled all the tops off the seedlings!}