Zinnias

Remember the gardens of the '40s and '50s where the big attraction were those huge flowers of the Zinnia? I remember my Grandmothers' bouquets as big as a table (!) during the summer.

Now there are old-style and wonderful new colored and bi-colored zinnias to choose from. They are so easy to start from seed right in the garden bed.

You'll find a wide variety of seeds available in most any seed catalog local nursery or garden center. Plant them outside when the soil and air temperature has warmed to about 60øF.

You will have blooms in 2 to 3 months with enough to cut and also leave in the beds for show. Remove when the flower dries to prevent seed from forming and encourage more blooming. Zinnias will also attract butterflies.

Q. Could you send me some information on zinnias? I have a lot of seeds from last year which I want to plant this year. Any advice on when where and how would be welcome. I also kept marigold seeds. Will they come back if I plant them?

A. Both your seed types will be very good for growing new plants this spring. Now is the time to start the germination! Tip out some seed compost or fine sterilized potting mix [available from nurseries or garden centers for seed propagation] from its bag on to your potting bench [or polythene-covered kitchen table!] fluff it up and make sure it is moist but not soggy. Ensure that the pots for seed sowing are clean and gather together everything else you will need: clingfilm or glass a watering can with a fine-holed spout labels and marker pen and a presser as a pot if desired.

Start by filling pots about half a dozen at a time. Fill each pot loosely to the brim wipe off the surplus level with the rim of the pot then tap the pot on the bench to settle the compost; finally firm very gently to level the surface. The surface of the compost should be about 1/4 in (6 mm) below the rim of the pot. Now the seed must be sown thinly and evenly over the surface of the compost.

For all but the largest seed I find that the best method is as follows:

Place the seed on a piece if white paper creased down the middle. Tap the edge of the paper with index finger to encourage the seed to roll off the edge and on to the compost. This way you can see exactly how much seed is falling on to the compost and by moving the paper back and forth as the seed falls the surface can be covered evenly. Larger seeds such as your marigolds and zinnias need less careful sowing and can be redistributed over the surface of the compost after sowing by moving them with the point of a pencil.

Very small seeds like those of lobelias petunias and begonias can be tricky but the method I have described will distribute the seed evenly although this is less easy if your eyesight is poor! The old trick of adding a small amount of very dry sand to the seed mixing thoroughly and sowing the highly visible mixture works well. Large seeds can be sown in individual pots thinned to one as they develop and then potted on before planting out.

After sowing most seed needs a covering of compost although plants with small seeds like begonias and petunias can simply be pressed gently into the surface of the compost. Over the years I have found that this gentle pressing is very useful reducing the amount of fine compost for sifting over the seeds to a covering as deep as the seed itself. Some gardeners use an old kitchen sieve for this purpose. Vermiculite can also be used as a seed covering but is less easy to manage than compost. Immediately after sowing write the label giving the name source of seed and date of sowing.