Zinnia Seeds - California Giants Mix - Large 1 Ounce Packet - 3,000 Flower Seeds - Mixed Colors and Large Blooms

Gardening has become one of my favorite hobbies in retirement, and these California Giants Zinnia seeds have been a highlight of my flower beds. The packet is generous – about 1 ounce of seeds which they say is around 3,000 seeds. It certainly looked like a lot when I opened it! I decided to sow them in two batches: one in late spring of last year and another this spring (I stored the remainder in a cool, dry place). The seeds are small and easy to scatter. I prepared a sunny patch of soil, raked it loose, and sprinkled the seeds fairly liberally since I knew I had plenty. Within about a week, I saw tiny green sprouts popping up, which is always a thrill. The germination rate impressed me – I’d estimate well over 80% of where I scattered turned into seedlings. I did have to thin them out a bit to give each plant room to grow, but that’s a good “problem” of having high germination. By mid-summer, I was rewarded with an explosion of color. These zinnias truly live up to the “Giants” name – many blooms were as large as my palm, in vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple. They stood tall, some reaching 3 to 4 feet. My granddaughter loved to walk through “Grandpa’s flower jungle” pointing out her favorite colors. The bees and butterflies loved them too; our garden was constantly buzzing with visitors, which is wonderful for pollination. I even cut bunches of these zinnias to make impromptu bouquets for the dining table and to give to neighbors. They last quite well as cut flowers, often a week or more in a vase if you change the water. It felt great to have such an abundance of blooms that I could share freely. These zinnias were also low maintenance. I watered regularly when they were seedlings, but once established, they handled the summer heat and occasional dry spells like champs. I did notice that a few plants got powdery mildew on leaves late in the season (a common zinnia issue when nights turn cool and damp), but it didn’t stop them from flowering profusely. Removing a few mildewy leaves was all that was needed. If you’re planting all the seeds at once, be ready for a lot of zinnias – they can crowd each other. I ended up transplanting some seedlings to other parts of the yard because I over-enthusiastically scattered in one area. In hindsight, spacing the seeds out more would have saved me that step. But honestly, it was a joy to have that “problem.” This packet of seeds is a fantastic value. For the price of one nursery plant, I got dozens upon dozens of zinnia plants that kept my garden lively and colorful until the first frost. I’ll definitely be buying these again when I (eventually) run out, though with so many seeds, I might be set for another year or two. Highly recommended for both novice and experienced gardeners – you just can’t beat the cheerful display these zinnias provide.

Exactly what I expected!

I had great success with these seeds. I started them in trays and they grew easily and were beautiful! Butterflies love them!

The germination rate was amazing, had to be atleast 90% and the plants grew beautifully nice bushy and tall. My only problem is this is supposed to be the giants zinnia mix and all of my flowers are ultra tiny… like the size of my finger nail (and I bite my nails lol) I’ve fertilized them several times with blooming fertilizer high in phosphorus too so not sure why they are so tiny, I’m almost wondering if my seeds are a different variety (a smaller zinnia variety)

Pretty but no where close to giant size which is very disappointing.