April 2024

Caroline Steinmetz

Join us as we tackle our first time starting zinnia’s from seed in our basement nursery!

If you are new to the flower world, like myself, it can often be a little overwhelming trying to figure out where to start. See our blog post My Strategy Going into my First Year of Producing Cut Flowers to learn how I started our flower journey on my couch the October prior to our first season.

Zinnia’s were my first flower pick of the year! They are a staple in the cut flower garden due to their unique+colorful varieties. These flowers are ideal cut candidates due to their easy nature and long stems. Zinnia’s are relatively easy to grow and start from seed as well.

Succession Sowing Zinnia’s will ensure you have blooms all season

Therefore, I’d recommend starting some zinnia seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost for your season as well as direct sow some outdoors your last frost. This year, I decided to start with Zinderella Peach, Queen Red Lime, Zinderella Lilac, and Isabellina varieties as my Zinnia varieties I’d start indoors. I purchased one pack of each seeds from Eden brothers and planted approximately 1/2 a tray of each type on 3/30/2024.

My Zinnia Germination Environment

• On the day of planting, I moistened my soil mixture and prepped my seed trays as usual.
• All of my zinnia seed packets recommending sowing the seeds ~1/4″ below the soil. Therefore, I created a small hole using my finger and covered the top of the seeds with vermiculite.
• Since I had extra seeds to spare, I placed two zinnia seeds per seed cell, one in each corner.
• The seeds were placed in heat mats and kept between 75 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit during germination.
• Using humidity domes, we kept the moisture level of the zinnia seeds between 75%-100%.
• Lights were hung approximately 12″ above the top of the soil and were kept on for roughly 17 hours per day.

Once sprouts emerged I removed the humidity domes and heat mats (4/3)

After about two weeks of growth post humidity dome and heat mat removal, I transplanted the zinnia’s to a slightly larger 4″ pot.

After two more weeks of growth in the basement nursery, the zinnia’s were hardened off and planted outdoors!