Zinnias wilting and drying
Hello All,
My Zinnias were bright and beautiful till four days ago. Below is the description of the chain of events that led to the current wilting and drying status of my zinnia plants.
Three days ago: Looked like the Zinnia plants suffered from sun-stroke. There leaves and flowers were slightly wilted. Some of the leaves were crispy (green but dry and brittle). When I watered the plants, within an hour all the plants looked mostly happy. I changed the place of the container to a spot where there would be some shade in the afternoon.
The-day-before-yesterday: Zinnia container was out in the new location for the whole day but when I checked on them in the evening, their leaves and flowers were wilted again. I watered them well and soon (within an hour or so), most of the plants had resurrected themselves. I deadheaded some stalks and removed some pale/dry leaves. Then I transplanted the zinnias to a self-watering container to make sure that they don't wilt due to lack of water.
Yesterday: Slightly wilted plants with somewhat burnt/browned leaves. I therefore, cut the leaves that I felt were not going to grow back. Some of the leaves at the bottom of the plant looked rotten as well (may be due to over-watering on the previous day?). I read about zinnia diseases online and felt that it could also be powdery mildew or blight that might be affecting the plant. I did some more pruning and set the plant back in a sunny spot. The plants looked sparse but still seemed to have enough leaves.
Today: Wilting and drying plants - the plants look almost dead.
I am attaching a current picture of the zinnia plants.
Has anyone been in a similar situation with zinnias? Did your plant grow back?
Thanks for any advise that you can give!
Best Regards,
Auriga
Comments (8)
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years agoRelated Professionals
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gz08
7 years agodonna_in_sask
7 years ago
Andrea Diaz
6 years agozen_man
6 years agoAndrea,
Zinnias can survive in small pots.
But they need to be re-potted to pots that allow a root volume comparable to the above ground plant size. My guess is you accidentally broke or damaged the stem or the main taproot when you re-potted them.
ZM
Billie Griffith
3 years agozen_man
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHi Billie,
" I don’t know what we did wrong. But they are still out in the full sun just moved to a different spot. Anyone have any ideas? "
Well, I take it that you transplanted them from one in-ground spot to another in-ground spot. In which case, there would have been considerable unavoidable pruning of their root systems. Zinnia root systems tend to get bigger than their above-ground bushes outdoors where there are no underground barriers. If you are watering and fertilizing them, they are quickly adding to their root systems. I feed my zinnias with Miracle-Gro soluble Tomato Food. The Tomato Food is a fairly complete formula, and has an extra amount of Magnesium (a component of Chlorophyll). I grow and breed zinnias as a hobby, and I have obtained some interesting variations on the zinnia flower form.
My "secret" is to hand-pollinate hybrids between hybrids.
ZM (not associated with any product mentioned)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5