John_fender said:Anyhow if thumbelina is that short would the spread be similar at 6-8 inches ?
Yes, the spread would normally be in about that range. It has been years since I experimented with Thumbelinas, and I don't know how they might respond to repeated pinching. That might cause their spread to be greater. I have since discontinued working with small zinnias, because I don't like to kneel or stoop to work with them.
John_fender said:Just planted a few thumbelinas and a few magellans (coral). Kind of a test to see what works best in containers. Planting out in garden has been disastrous for me fighting slugs, earwigs and cold weather.
I predict that you will like the Magellans. You might want to consider the Profusions and Zaharas for their resistance to Powdery Mildew. They might work in containers.
I don't want to be restricted to containers. A few years ago I had an earwig population explosion that devastated my zinnias, and discovered that my heavy mulching was contributing to good conditions for earwigs. I have since discontinued conventional mulching, and now "mulch" with sand (which discourages pill bugs as well). There is a product called Sluggo that is very effective against slugs. It is a bait whose active ingredient is iron phosphate, so it is safe around pets. And what the slugs don't eat, the plants can use as plant food, because plants use both iron and phosphorous. The sand mulch also discourages slugs and snails, who don't like to move over sand. The sand grains tend to stick to them.
I breed zinnias as a hobby, so I need to use in-ground planting so that I can grow a large number of experimental zinnias. So I will fight any pests that might interfere with my use of my garden space. Obviously my indoor zinnia project during the Winter is restricted to containers.
ZM (not associated with any product mentioned)
