Sanvitalia procumbens Seeds | Creeping Zinnia

Trailing stems of Creeping Zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens) with small yellow flowers — Creeping Zinnia (*Sanvitalia procumbens*): Asteraceae, a trailing annual from Mexico and Guatemala.

LATIN NAME: Sanvitalia procumbens

COMMON NAME: Creeping Zinnia

Plant Profile

Creeping zinnia is a low, sprawling annual of the daisy family, native to Mexico and Guatemala, where it grows on dry, rocky ground. It forms a mat fifteen to twenty centimetres tall and up to forty-five centimetres across, with small, pointed leaves and narrow, bright yellow flowers with a dark purple centre.

It flowers from midsummer until the first frost, and in a warm autumn it keeps going into October. The stems root where they touch damp ground, which is why a single plant can cover a wide pot by the end of the season. The seed is small and light, and it germinates in about a week in warm soil.

Science & Biotechnology

The species is used in studies of drought tolerance in annuals, since it grows and flowers on very little water and closes its flowers in dull weather. Its seed germination has been studied for the effect of temperature and light, which is why it is usually sown after the soil has warmed.

Breeding work has produced double and semi-double forms, and a form with a green centre. The genus is small and belongs to the same tribe as the sunflowers, which is why its flower heads follow the same architecture of disc and ray florets.

Uses & Benefits

It is a plant for the front of a border, for a hanging basket, for a gap in paving or for a container, where its trailing habit covers the compost. It is also useful in a gravel garden, where it seeds itself gently.

The flowers are small but produced in quantity, and they last well in a small vase. In a vegetable garden it can be used to fill the edge of a bed, where it suppresses weeds and feeds small bees without competing with the crop.

In a mixed container it works as the trailing element, spilling over the rim while upright plants fill the centre, and it tolerates the restricted root space better than most annuals. The flowers are also visited by small bees, which makes it useful in a vegetable garden. It is one of the few trailing annuals that will flower in light shade for part of the day.

Growing from Seed

Sow in late spring at 18-20C, barely covering the seed, and plant out after the last frost. It needs full sun and free-draining soil, and it resents being crowded or overwatered.

Space plants thirty centimetres apart so the mats can spread. It will self-seed in a warm summer if a few flowers are left to ripen, but the seedlings appear late, so it is safer to raise fresh plants each year. In a hanging basket, mix the compost with grit and water sparingly, since the plant rots at the crown if the surface stays wet.

Our Take

A cheerful, uncomplicated annual that covers a hot, dry corner with yellow flowers for months. It asks for sun and drainage and gives back far more than it costs.

Herb Seeds