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

if the media can not hold enough water... for the entire day ... because there are so many roots in the pot.. there MIGHT be your water issue ... a failure of your potting medium ...

cant tell how big the pot is...

was it fresh media this year.. or old ...

and how many plants were in the pot... hard to tell since you already whacked it down ...

and why are you messing with pots???? versus mother earth .... you might be making it a lot harder than it ought to be.. but i suspect its your housing type.. and you have no option ...

many purchased pots.. are forced for immediate gratification .. meaning a lot of plants jammed into a rather small pot ... and sometimes.. just too many ... for the amount of media there ...

more info please ...

ken

In TX, you should still have plenty of time to grow more zinnias from seed, if you can find the seeds at this point. I have the best luck when they are scattered on the ground, and live their lives undisturbed. You may find some viable seeds on the flowers you have there. Zinnia flowers don't need to turn brown and crispy to have ready seeds.