i made an experiment on my beautiful self sown coleuses and put a container in a closed bucket full of water.........
what do you think happened? yeh they are having a whale of a time.....
so i thought maybe i should try the same on my self sown zinnias?
i have taken cuttings of coleuses before and put in water to encourage roots but i have not done it with zinnias thats what iwould like to know.to put a container of 20 cm high zinnias in a bucket full of water?

Hi David,

Its hard to say if it would work. Only way you will know is to try it.

My thoughts:

Some plants, like coleus, root well in water and seem to need quite a bit to be happy. I have never heard of rooting a Zinnia in water. Or growing a zinnia in a hydroponic system. Most plants have built in shut off valves when they have had enough water (cactus and succulents are the exception). So, presumably, the zinnia would know when it had enough water. The biggest problem with hydroponic growing is that the water has to be oxygenated or the plant roots will suffocate. That is usually accomplished by planting in a soilless medium (clay pellets or gravel) and having the water constantly moving through the root system.

You might try putting a few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in the bucket to provide more oxygen. That works well with cuttings that are hard to root such as Hibiscus.

Daisy

David, I grow zinnias in Texas. I do not think it will work. Zinnias whole purpose is to flower and the plants energy goes towards flowering not rooting. Zinnias are also used as cut flowers and I have not had one grow roots while in water in a vase. There is always a first time for everything, so try one that isn't your favorite. Your best bet is collect their seeds, each flower if pollinated produces lots of seeds. Zinnias are great flowers. Have a joyful day!

thank you daisy and sharon
i will make myself clear
i have a coleus growing very well in a 5 litre bucket with planting soil i have some other coleuses too in other buckets same size same soil
.one bucket was sitting in another bucket with water(a closed system)
after a few days that i did not visit the plants since they where in an old neglected nursery at a school where i teach i noticed that the coleus in the double bucket was in a very good condition.......that means that it was not lacking of water and the color of the leaves where sharp and looked healthier.i also know that coleus like humidity.so it must have helped to the whole atmosphere
all i am saying it looks like it is a good solution for "go away for short time" i did not mean to grow zinnias in hydroponic culture.
by the way i tried to put last year some cut chrysanthemum flowers i got as a gift for some celebration into water in order to root them but it did not work.
i have not heard of hydrogen peroxide is it a slow release nutrition for hydroponics? i use levatit for my hydroponics
the zinnias of this year are aresult of my experiment to polinate home made style with tweesers.
so i am curious to see the result with some kind of fear(because of exess water) that i may kill them.

David--the reason cut flowers usually will not work is the length of time they are removed from the original plant. Here I grow "garden chrysanthemums" they are hardier and a little less fancy than some of the cut ones. If I break or cut a piece off all I do is keep it in the shade, put it in potting soil that I keep continually moist. When I see it start to grow I know it started developing roots. I will baby it for awhile and eventually put it in the ground. Garden mums are perennials in my zone. Zinnias are only a long season annual. If your zinnias have roots you could try it as a watering system if I understand you correctly. I always caution try it with one because if it does not work it is not a total loss. But it could be successful for you. Everybody has a different touch with plants. Good look on pollinating your zinnias . I hope you get some neat seeds! Many joys to you!

thank you for your reply and advices

I agree with Sharon, David. Try it with one plant first. IF you are going away for a few days, setting the plants in a pan of water will probably help them not to wilt until you get home, but I'm not sure your Zinnias will like it.

Coleus and Zinnia are very different plants. If you look at the stems of Coleus you will see that they are full of water, and the plants can take any amount of water, it seems. They thrive here when we get heavy downpours of rain every day in the summer. I also have one growing in a 6in. deep pan that holds a lot of water, and it is very happy. I've kept cuttings growing in water for months, too.

Zinnias like conditions much drier to bloom well. Look at their stems - quite solid and drier or more woody than Coleus. When I have grown Zinnia, even in Utah which has a hot dry climate in summer, I didn't need to water them every day. They liked to dry out between waterings. Here, Zinnias grow and bloom well in the springtime (our driest season) with hot, dry, sunny conditions but as soon as the rainy summer weather hits, they die off. So my bet is that if you grow a Zinnia plant in a closed watery system, it will rot or drown. But I really don't know for sure because I never tried it.

thank you for your reply i understand the difference getting to know the plants every year a little bit more.
i wont relate to coleus as to zinnia.how about dahlias they should be more like zinnias concerning watering.....am i right?

Yes, dahlias also like to dry out somewhat between waterings. They have a tuber, so would be seriously sensitive to rot if sitting in water.

David,

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is not stable so naturally breaks down into water and oxygen. A little H2O2 in water releases oxygen and helps oxygenate the water. A lot of H2O2 works as a bleach (think Peroxide Blond) and would destroy the roots.

If you are trying to keep plants watered while you aren't there to take care of them, try using an old plastic container (milk jug, water bottle) with a wicking system or a dripper inserted. You can also use a bucket as a reservoir and run lines to your plants.

Daisy

just to say thankyou all the supporters on the topic of transfering coleus homeseed sown

David looks very nice! Good job! How are your zinnias doing? May you have many blessings come your way this week.

thank you sharon i water my zinnias less and meanwhile i can see only two that are growing tall(i presume they are the gigantic ones) the rest some i have pinched off for bushiness the rest i have let to flower but they are similar to last years small ponpon purple flower

I cut a Zinna from my garden and it actually grew roots in the vase!

dont tell me

I've actually tried this method and can confirm that it does work! What I usually do is cut one set of leaves below a zinnia bloom and place it in water. To keep the cutting secure, prevent the leaves from getting wet and have it float, I cut a small piece of pool noodle, and push the steam through it to hold it in place. I like to keep them on my covered front porch, away from direct sunlight. After about 5-10 days, you should start to see some roots forming.

Just an FYI, 8 year old thread.