Zinnia Elegans: Collecting and Saving Seeds

Sandy — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:56:26 +0000

Zinnia Elegans is a gorgeous choice for gardens. Zinnia comes in a wide variety of colors, and its large, bright blooms really give a garden a sense of cheer. There are even varieties of zinnia that are as jumbo as three feet in height! Moreover, Zinnia Elegans can easily be grown from seeds. All these factors make Zinnia a very popular flower in gardens.

Collecting seeds of Zinnia Elegans is fairly easy. As the blooms fade, air dry the flowers by hanging them upside down.

(Left: Zinnia seeds that are not yet ripened Right: ripe Zinnia seeds)

Seeds of Zinnia Elegans develop on the end of the petals. So, all we have to do is pull apart the Zinnia flower petals and check to see if any of them house a seed. Do not pull the heads too early. Else, the bees and other pollinators may not have had the chance to do their work, and the seed won’t be ready.

At the insertion point of each petal is a pointed tip, like an arrowhead. This is the seed. To be ripe, it should have darkened to a dusty brown or gray shade. White seeds are not yet ripe and should not be collected.

For storage, put the seeds collected in a paper bag. Paper bag will absorb any excess moisture as the seeds overwinter. It will be even better if we put the paper bag in a plastic bag for extra insurance. The goal is to store them in a cool, dry place through the winter.

Depending on the variety, each Zinnia flower can have dozens to hundreds of seeds. Once the seeds are collected from the heads and seperated from the petals, we can use the petals for potpourri or filler for a craft project

Propagate Flame Violet by Cutting

Sandy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:08:42 +0000

I bought a pot of Episcia (aka Flame Violet) seedling in October last year. Since then, it has been growing beautifully in my room, with its first flower blooming in April.

Thru some research, I have learned that Flame Violet can be propagated by stolon cuttings. This is my first time growing Flame Violet. Everything to me is new and interesting. And surely, I would like to try stolon propagation. While I was wondering when I should cut the stolons of my Flame Violet for my experiment, my dear brother accidently cut off two stolons from the plant with the rotor blades of his newly bought remote control helicopter. Ok. That’s great! At least I was saved from thinking too much more before taking any action.

I removed all the leaves that seemed too big, and planted each stolon in a 2” pot.

For the first two months, I had kept waiting and waiting, and the two Flame Violet stolons showed little sign of growth. While I was wondering if I should give up on them, I found a tiny pair of leaves growing from the center of both baby plants! Yeah!

I have an impression that my two Flame Violet stolons have taken longer than normal to develop their root systems and grow their first leaves. I wonder why. Was it not the right season for propagating Flame Violet? Or did I leave too few leaves on the stolons for the plants to grow and develop their roots quickly? For some of the leaves, maybe instead of cutting the whole piece, I should cut only half of the piece, so for the plants to absorb more sun and moist in the air.

But anyways, my baby FlameViolets are growing strong and healthy now!

You can check out this post for more detailed instructions on how to propagate plant by cutting.

Gardening on Cloud 9 » Propagation

Zinnia Elegans: Collecting and Saving Seeds

Propagate Flame Violet by Cutting