Zinnia elegans Seeds | Zinnia
LATIN NAME: Zinnia elegans
COMMON NAME: Zinnia
Plant Profile
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) is a robust, branching annual of the daisy family (Asteraceae), native to Mexico and long one of the easiest of all garden flowers. It grows 30-100 cm tall depending on strain, with rough, clasping leaves and long-stemmed, daisy-like or fully double flowers in nearly every colour except blue. It flowers non-stop from summer to frost, excels as a cut flower, and feeds bees and butterflies all season.
Science & Biotechnology
Like other members of the daisy family, Zinnia elegans draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. Bold flower heads of zinnia give it a recognised place in research on summer annuals of daisy family, and elegans species appears in studies of flower structure and cut-flower crop. It retains a following among breeders and collectors, which keeps seed stocks in circulation.
Uses & Benefits
Zinnia brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. In sunny border and cutting garden, zinnia fireworks summer border with vivid heads. Flowers fill vases, they draw butterflies and bees, and plant grows quickly from the seed. It does well in rich, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. A plant that has settled in will get along with only routine care.
Zinnias are the easiest of all cutting flowers and a feast for butterflies; they are pure summer happiness without medicinal pretense.
Growing from Seed
Starting Zinnia from seed is simple and satisfying. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Among the Zinnia group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. What it needs is basic: sun, drainage, and a little patience while it establishes.
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