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patsgarden2015

Magellan zinnias

Diamond2014
9 years ago

I plan to try magellan zinnias next spring, but would like to know if anyone raising them had problems with mildew? My tall zinnias were beautiful this year, but they got mildew in late July. They also got so tall that they fell over. Any advice?

Comments (5)

  • zen_man
    9 years ago

    Magellans are not mildew resistant. Profusions, Zaharas, and Pinwheels are mildew resistant, and don't get tall.

    ZM

  • Diamond2014
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I grew Profusions this year also, but the bloom is so small. Also, they really didn't look good until mid July. Are the Zaharas and Pinwheels larger blooms?

  • zen_man
    9 years ago

    The Pinwheels are not larger. The Zaharas are a little larger than the Profusions, but not a whole lot.

    You mentioned that your zinnias got so tall that they fell over. That sounds like an unhealthy situation. If zinnias don't have enough light, they "stretch" for more light. And if they are too close together, they compete with each other for light and stretch.

    Also, July is early for mildew to become a problem. Maybe there is something wrong with your growing conditions. Zinnias require full sun, which usually means at least 8 hours of direct sun exposure per day. Were your zinnias growing in a partly shaded location?

  • Diamond2014
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The tall zinnias were growing in two separate places. One was sun all day, until maybe 6:00 in the evening. I plant them in a raised bed made up of 5 gallon pots filled with good soil mix and placed next to each other. My bed is about 25 ft. x 15 ft. I planted 3 zinnia plants per pot. Raised them in my greenhouse in plug trays until mid May, then transplanted them into the pots. Early on, the leaves on some of them turned black. Took a couple of weeks for them to take off growing well. Our weather was warm and sunny. They grew great till mid August and then started leaning and falling over and got some mildew.
    The other bed was also in full sun, but next to a small greenhouse. This one did not get good air circulation because of the GH, so they got the mildew in early July. The blooms were beautiful but the mildew ruined the looks for me. These were planted in the same way as the other bed. Will try tall marigolds in this bed next year, surely they will do better. Thanks Pat

  • zen_man
    9 years ago

    Hi Pat,

    " I plant them in a raised bed made up of 5 gallon pots filled with good soil mix and placed next to each other. My bed is about 25 ft. x 15 ft. I planted 3 zinnia plants per pot. "

    Where did you get so many 5-gallon pots? I don't know the particulars of 5-gallon pots, but plastic 5-gallon buckets are typically about a foot in diameter, so that bed is roughly equivalent to a Square Foot Garden (SFG), except that you have put three zinnia plants where normally only one would go. So I think those zinnias are suffering from overcrowding. My recommendation would be, next year place only one zinnia per pot.

    " The other bed was also in full sun, but next to a small greenhouse. This one did not get good air circulation because of the GH, so they got the mildew in early July.
    ... Will try tall marigolds in this bed next year, surely they will do better. "

    They might. My luck with marigolds has not been so good. I do like their foliage, and I don't mind their odor. But for me, they tend to be "red spider magnets". And since spider mites are spiders, and not insects, insecticides tend to not control them.

    Good luck next year.

    ZM

    This post was edited by zenman on Sat, Sep 20, 14 at 20:54

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