-- tall (3 feet or more).....very curly stalk

I've grown zinnias before so I know they get tall, and stand pretty straight.

But.... these stalks are curling, and so crooked with "S" curves they're like 'walking stick' crooked-- and the flowers that would be three feet in the air if the stalk were growing straight up -- are only a foot above the top of the plant. ..... also these stems are a little bit thicker than the straight tall zinnia stalks.

The stalks seem to be growing all over the place, in crazy directions. From another person's post, this is a good way to describe it: "The stems were crooked, bent, and flopped everywhere."

I'd like to know which zinnias these are -- so I DON"T buy them again.
Lesson learned: I MUCH prefer the straight tall growers.

"From another person's post, this is a good way to describe it: "The stems were crooked, bent, and flopped everywhere." "

Just out of curiosity, where was that other person's post?

ZM

Mine are growing well. I do think it's the way the stems grow. Just wish I knew what kind of zinnias these were.

"I'd like to know which zinnias these are -- so I DON"T buy them again."

There are any number of zinnia varieties that could yield flowers that had red petals with yellow pollen florets. However, I think you can feel safe to buy any variety of zinnias that you want to, without the fear that the packet contains a curly stem problem.

It's possible that your "curly stem" zinnia is a mutation, but more likely that it is affected by some sort of disease, like Aster Yellows, for example. But I doubt that, if a disease is involved, that it came in a commercial seed packet. I think that some insect vector, like a leafhopper or cucumber beetle, would be the more likely carrier of a disease like Aster Yellows.

In case a disease is involved, I would recommend pulling up the affected zinnias, package them in a plastic bag or garbage bag, and send them to the landfill with the rest of the garbage.

"Curly stem" is a rare complaint with zinnias, and I wouldn't let this experience inhibit your selection of which zinnia seeds to buy in the future.

ZM

tj

I am stumped on this one. At least we have eliminated the zinnia seed as the problem. Although we currently live in a rural area using well water, I have grown zinnias just fine in town, using municipal water that was both chlorinated and fluoridated.

" No rain but good irrigation, no special food because I thought zinnias did not like extra food"

Zinnias do like extra food. Zinnias grow rapidly and are heavy users of nutrients. Some soils have nutrients in abundance, but many do not. Zinnias respond well to foliar feeding. I have had good luck with Miracle-Gro Tomato Food, because it contains extra magnesium, which is a component of chlorophyll. But this curly stem problem does not sound like a nutrient deficiency of anything in a "normal" foliar feeding formula.

I will research this further and see if I can document a specific nutrient deficiency that could cause curly stems. Calcium is absent from most soluble nutrient formulas, and plants in general need quite a bit of calcium. Some soils are deficient in calcium, and benefit from a top dressing with gypsum, which is calcium sulfate. Incidentally, plants also need sulfur, which calcium sulfate provides.

But at this time, I don't know what is causing these curly stems. It might not be nutritional. Has anyone in your area been applying a herbicide that you know of? Sometimes herbicide spray drift can cause odd problems. For the time being, this "curly stems" zinnia problem is an open issue.

ZM

Really, folks.....pictures might be more helpful than you realize.

Cutting them back to 1.5 inches isn't giving them much of a chance. They are not going to come up from the roots, and that severe a pruning likely doesn't leave them with any growing points. Bye bye zinnias.