Uproar Rose Zinnia elegans - Planted IB2DWS - June 2024

#2 on my priority list for 2024 is to 'keep going with flowers'.  That means...pushing through my discomfort around blooming perennials and annuals and planting things that I haven't in the past.  This year, that means that I am expanding a little bit out from what I *do* know and what I *do* like.   Last year, I had a small patio container that mixed some salmon-colored zinnias and Euphorbia.  It was great and I was able to cut from the Zinnias all through the late Summer/early Fall.  

This Spring, I cut out a new bed on the southside and planned to spread some Zinnia seeds around (more on this soon) to serve as a sort-of cut flower garden bed.  

But, I also went further with flowers this year by planting some dahlia tubers.  So far, I've planted six Melina Fleur Dahlia tubers (that I started indoors).  Three in the sideyard, three in the front porch bed (where the Disneyland Roses were last year).  And, I put in three Orange Nugget Dahlia tubers in that Zinnia bed.    I have five more Dahlias to put in, so once all is said and done, I'll have tried:  six Melina Fleur, three Cornell Bronze and five Orange Nugget dahlias in the ground.

But, I'll also have some further-along Zinnias.  That's because when we were at the Growing Place in Naperville, I grabbed a couple of small containers of standout zinnias.  First up is Uproar Rose Zinnia elegans.   The sign on the bench at TGP is below.  It reads:  "The big, double blooms are an electrifying shade of rose with just a touch of bright yellow around the center.  The robust plants are vigorous, branched and bushy. "   This says it grows two-to-three-feet tall.  And 1.5 to 3 feet wide.  

Below is what this Zinnia looked like when I planted it - the bloom was just beginning to open-up.  

This went right in between the original IB2DWs bed and the new extension for the conifer garden.  In the photo below, you can see one of the Baby Blue Spruces on the right and the Artemisia Silver Mound on the bottom left.  

I watered it in and when I woke up the next morning, the bloom had progressed.  This is going to be a nice little pop of color.  It wasn't cheap, but I regret only buying one.   That's a lesson that I know well - buy more than one, Jake.  

I have a few more Zinnias going IB2DWs, so I'll post those in the next few days.