Should I Upright them or leave them?

[GardenGeisha]

I was covering my zinnias for the cold night ahead here, when suddenly my very imaginative Siamese cat decided that one section of zinnias that were covered with a frost blanket were really a nice big soft bed to jump on, so he leapt up, and the flowers fell over... My question is, in such cases, is it best to leave the zinnias lying on their side or to try to upright them? I tried to upright one section the other day that had been knocked over, and they severed at the crown. I left another bunch that the wind had blown over lying on the ground and they still seem okay and non-severed.

So I just left these lying on their side, but some roots had come loose and were exposed to the air so I covered the roots with dirt and watered.

My cat had disappeared earlier in the day and I was so afraid harm had befallen him that I couldn't scold him when he did this jumping on the zinnias bit. Yesterday he jumped down oton my owl bug zapper and hummingbird feeder from on top of the chicken house roof, trying to get down onto the ground from the ladder on which the items were positioned. The hummingbird feeder fell off and hit a rock on the ground and broke into jagged pieces of glass. The cat was so lucky not to have gotten cut. He doesn't seem to have good judgment as to where to jump. I guess he is a risk-taker cat with 9 lives...

 

[897tgigvib]

My cats never get in trouble when they do things like that.

I'd leave the zinnias basically down and the roots covered. Might be able to straighten some up or partway. They'll be done for the season in not too long anyway. Oh wait, you're down south. Not sure when they'd be done.

 

[Smart Red]

If your zinnias are intact just leave them be. The stems will turn and grow up in a short while. They may even set new roots where the stems touch the ground. Flowers will continue to set as long as weather cooperates.

 

[digitS']

GardenGeisha is not so far down south - northern Utah if I remember right. Getting some snow in your nearby mountains, GardenGeisha?

Yes, they won't take any kind of frost

And . . . zinnias have hollow stems, mostly. Yep, really hard to do much with the plants without breaking the stems!

Steve

 

[journey11]

Leave them, or make a really nice bouquet!

 

[897tgigvib]

Wellp, what was the decision?

 

[GardenGeisha]

I left them, and they seemed fine this morning. It rained all night. The zinnias I didn't cover looked just as good as the ones I did. Tonight is to be just as cold. Guess I'll cover them again. It may not rain tonight...

 

[Nyboy]

Pets have their own way of gardening !!

 

[GardenGeisha]

Yep, pets have their own way of gardening. So true. Sad news is Jack Frost killed my zinnias last night and squash. I had thought they'd make it through-- it didn't seem that much colder than the night before. The ones I covered seem to have pulled through, but I didn't have enough covers for all of them. I must invest in lots of thrift store sheets for next year, I guess. So disappointing. Had I known it was going to do them in, I would have picked blossoms.

So does this mean the seeds are no good on the ones Jack Frost zapped? Or could they still be salvageable? I didn't want to pick blossoms until I was certain the frost would get them-- like to leave them for the butterflies to enjoy as long as possible and any straggler hummers and bees, but I made the wrong judgment call.

It appears he got the covered gladiola with frost, also. :<(

 

[897tgigvib]

I would think the seeds should be ok.