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Re: 2ND TRY RE: ZINNIAS

At 02:04 PM 6/25/98 -0600, you wrote:
>At 02:22 PM 6/25/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>SEVERAL DAYS AGO I SENT THE FOLLOWING REQUEST--IF NO ONE IS INTERESTED IN
>>ANSWERING BASIC QUESTIONS, THEN I WILL UNSUBSCRIBE AND NOT WASTE ANYONE'S
>TIME:
>>
>>
>>I'm fairly new to this list and have been gardening for about 15 years. I
>>started with hybrid tea roses-moved on to antique roses and eventually other
>>flowers, veggies etc.
>>
>>        I live in New Orleans, on the border of zones 8 & 9. Usually an
>>extremly wet area where it commonly rains every afternoon, we have been in
>>the throws of a drought for the last two months. The ground is parched and
>>watering is a major problem. 
>>        However, enough of my woes. The reason I am writing is that I am
>>having a big problem getting zinnia seeds to sprout.I am embarrased to even
>>admit this, let alone ask for help, because zinnias are simple plants-- one
>>step above a weed. I have grown them many times by simply broadcasting the
>>seed in the ground, water, and voila, zinnias. I have tried three times this
>>summer and not one seed germinated although there were 1998 seeds. I would
>>love to blame this on El Nino-but.... any ideas?


Starting annuals from seed in the early days of Summer is a no-no.
With our >90 degrees days, the only things that sprouts are the
weeds between the cracks in my sidewalk.  I can't tell from your
posts whether you tried to start the zinnias earlier in the spring,
when most annuals are sown.  If the nightime temperature, not
to mention the hot sun, is too high, the poor little seeds will
not germinate.  And it they do, they will wither away.  And the more
you water, the more chance for fungus to attack.

If all else fails, buy some nice annuals from the store, water
them well, and hope that they will grow.  You always have next
year to plan for.

Anthony Gal
Zone 7
Currently 95 degrees and holding
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