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I've always had a green thumb. Not sure how but it's natural to me. I started growing French dwarf marigolds and semi dwarf zinnias from seed early May. They're just now starting to bloom.

Because I wasn't sure exactly how many plants to have per pot and how well different flowers grew together, I planted 2 marigolds and 2 zinnias in a 4 1/2 in wide by 5 1/2 in tall plastic flower pot and I let them take off on their own. One of the zinnias died. The other zinnia is almost done blooming and the marigolds are growing their buds.

During the hottest part of the day it starts wilting. I also have to water it 4 times a day. The zinnia I had to stake up because it keeps falling over. I'm not sure how to repot flowers that are in one pot with 3 plants without damaging the stem of one of them.

Should I repot my zinnia? Or should I leave them alone since they're doing okay? I keep my eye on them during the heat and put them in shade.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Marilyn
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1 Answers1

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Yes, go ahead and repot and please use potting soil. No rocks or gravel at the bottom of the pot. You aren't going to like this but please cut off all flowers! These are annuals. Once they are able to set seed then the entire plant dies. If you are bold cut the flowers off at the main stem. All the energy going into making flowers and seed goes into the main body of the annual. This makes it larger and more vigorous. In a week you should see massive buds and blooms. Only fertilize with low nitrogen higher phosphorus and potassium numbers! Try this...I did this for a living...and blew people away when I cut off every flower (well as many as I could) from the entrance 'color' to developments...and the next week there were 3X as many flowers as those I cut off. And the plants flowered until frost...big time. Once an annual has made seed its one and only job in life has been completed. If we thwart that plant's ability to make 'babies' then it gets more powerful and produces more flowers. Keep cutting the flowers off. Comes a time you can't cut them all off and towards the end of fall let the plants make seed and die. At least cut off all 1 or 2 day old flowers!

stormy
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