Zinnia elegans Seeds | Zinnia ‘snow White’
LATIN NAME: Zinnia elegans
COMMON NAME: Zinnia ‘Snow White’
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Zinnia ‘Snow White’, Zinnia elegans is an annual. Snow-white zinnia flaunts upright, branching annual with rough, oval, opposite leaves and single, daisy-like, pure-white flowers with yellow centres flaunting stems from midsummer onward, flower heads held firmly on sturdy stems. It grows quickly into bushy, erect form, and it stands hot, dry summers well. It likes sun, and deep, fertile, well-drained soil. The flowering period doubles as a feeding season for bees and other pollinators. In combination, these characteristics make a persuasive case for growing it.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Zinnia elegans, a representative of the Zinnia group with clear practical value. Snow-white zinnia is woven into ornamental-breeding studies on garden annuals and cut-flower colour lines, and the Snow White cultivar appears in work on white-flower pigments and long-stemmed bedding forms. It is the kind of species that plant scientists reach for when they need reliable material for propagation and selection studies.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Zinnia ‘Snow White’ earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. In summer border, snow-white zinnia tops its bed with crisp, white heads above green foliage. Open flowers feed bees and butterflies, stems hold in vase, and plant makes fine bedding, cut flower and container plant. It thrives in deep, fertile, sunny ground. Once settled, it thrives on neglect more than on fussing.
Zinnias are the easiest of all cutting flowers and a feast for butterflies; they are pure summer happiness without medicinal pretense.
Growing from Seed
Zinnia ‘Snow White’ grows readily from seed. Level a tray of loose seed compost, sow evenly, cover to about the seed’s own depth, and keep it moist in full light. Once the seedlings have made true leaves, pot them on individually and plant out when they are sturdy and conditions are right.
Our Take
Among the Zinnia group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. Minor errors in timing or watering rarely cost the grower the crop.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Zinnia ‘Snow White’: