Nothing quite says summer is here than having a mixed colour pallet of zinnias in your garden bobbing their heads happily in the heat.
Of all the summertime blooms that you can easily grow from seed, zinnias are the perfect choice for a first-time grower looking to add a bright annual to their garden space.
These stunning and uncomplicated flowers are a joy to grow and they also make a memorable cut flower, which means you can easily add a vase of fresh flowers to your home every week during the height of the growing season.
Unlike many other flowers, such as snapdragons, which do best during our autumn, winter and spring months, zinnias thrive in the heat.
You can grow zinnias here in the Lowveld during the winter, but they will be very much stunted and you won’t be able to cut them. Their wintertime heads are also a lot smaller, so it is not all that worth the effort.
As for varieties, there are many.
For the most part, the colouring will stay more or less the same if you buy from a nursery selection of seeds, but you can find unusual colours and petal shapes if you should choose to buy seeds from a specialised seed supplier.
Zinnias are a classic cottage garden staple. They bloom abundantly all throughout the hot months, and will eventually become rather spindly and die back by the end of the summer. At this point, they will set seed and much like the marigold, if you leave your zinnia seeds to fall naturally, you will always have a patch of flowers with very little effort.
And you won’t be disappointed with the show they put on.
Types of Zinnias
To keep things simple, especially if you are not experienced and you don’t want to waste money buying seeds that will go to waste, it is best to start your zinnia journey with the standard options.
The most common and beautiful zinnia varieties you can grow include Lucky Day Mix, Thumbelina Mix, Giants of California, Dahlia, Sunbow, and Cactus.
All of these seeds can generally be found at a Montana Nursery, Builders Warehouse, Agri Shop or at some other local plant store. Read the backs of the seed packets carefully because some, like the Thumbelina and anything referred to as Dwarf, will be really short. If you want tall zinnias for cutting, you will naturally want to avoid anything with a short stem.
Keep in mind that all of these seed packets will have mixed colours.
Once you are comfortable and successful with seed starting zinnias, and you want to get a little bit more creative with your options, you can start buying speciality zinnia seed.
Speciality zinnia seeds will cost you a little more, and you will need to order online unless you are close to a seed breeder or importer, most of which are in the Cape.
Without a doubt the most popular speciality zinnia is the Oklahoma Zinnia.
These gorgeous Zinnias feature an ombre colour scheme, meaning the centre petals are lighter in colour and the outer petals are darker, with a fading happening in between. The petals are also layered, so while a standard zinnia might only have one row of petals, an Oklahoma Zinnia has a fuller head, with many layers. The Oklahoma Zinnia selection also comes in a uniquely beautiful colour pallet and you will be able to buy a single colour instead of having to settle for a mixed blend. Some popular Oklahoma Zinnia colours include a Dusty Salmon, White, Carmine Rose, Yellow, and Pink, and you can also opt for a blend.
Another speciality zinnia is the rather regal Zinnia Queen. Like the other zinnias, the Queen series produces long, prolific stems, and has full heads, with many layers of petals. Something that makes the Queen Zinnia extra special is that all of the flowers have a striking layer of lime yellow petals that make up the centre of the flower. You can buy Queen Lime, Queen Lime Blush, Red Lime and Orange Lime.
Zinnia Giants are another popular variety. These produce abundant stems and huge heads that are covered in layer upon layer of petals. While many zinnias are used to bulk up a bouquet, Giant Zinnias can quite easily be used as the centre of attention. This variety is available in White, Carmine Rose, Wine, Salmon, Carmine, Lavender, Pink, and Coral.
Other varieties that you can buy include the Jazzy Mix, which is a fun blend characterised by petals with a yellow or white edging, Peppermint Candy, which feature red striped petals, Zinderalla, which looks like it has a fluffy centre, Cupcake, which has a semi double head that looks quite like a cupcake, and Mazurkia, which has a dense head and is two toned.
One zinnia that I have seen in a nursery in full bloom, but have not found seeds for (and I can kick my butt for not buying a few seedlings) is the Zahara Raspberry Ripple Zinnia. She is a showstopper, but a short stem variety. The plant absolutely lived up to its name. It made me think of Raspberry Ripple, and on the hot summer day that I saw it, I was really tempted to head to an ice cream shop.
Sowing
The ease that you will experience when growing your zinnias begins with the sowing process.
Many gardeners will say that direct sowing is the way to go, and I do agree with them to an extent. Here in the Lowveld, where the threat of frost in spring is non-existent, direct sowing is a fuss free way to go. So long as you keep the seeds and seedlings moist, you should see a couple of green shoots within 2 weeks of the seed being planted.
Personally, I like to start all my seeds in a seed tray and then transplant. The times I have direct sown zinnia seeds, I’ve dealt with extra hot days and then forgotten to water them (at the time I was hand watering).
As you can imagine, the seeds died and the seedlings that had appeared, frazzled completely.
I find it easier to tend to a seed tray, even though that can pose some challenges seeing that zinnias don’t like having their roots disturbed. Planting seeds in trays just gives me a little more control over the number of plants I end up getting.
If I direct plant, I can’t really see where I am losing plants whereas planting in trays, and then transplanting, lets me see where I will need to replace some seeds.
When planting directly into the ground, or using seed trays, you should do the following:
- Make an indent in the soil, not too deep, about half a centimetre. Make sure that the soil or seedling mix is moist.
- Place the seed and cover it completely.
- Keep the soil moist and when your seedling has its true leaves (a second set) it is ready to be transplanted (if you are using a tray).
Growing
By now I think you’ve got the drift about how easy these flowers are to grow, so in this growing section, there’s not all that much to share.
When growing your zinnias, making sure that they are adequately watered is going to be your biggest challenged. Zinnias are full sun, summer flowers and if you are a Lowvelder, you will know that our summers can be unforgivable, especially during a particularly dry summer. Make sure that your zinnias are always well watered and consider mulching your plants, to hold that water in for a little while longer.
For the most part zinnias, unlike sunflowers, don’t need a lot of support. During heavy storms, my zinnias have mostly stood strong, but it helps to plant them closely together so that they support one another.
In a rainy wet summer, your zinnias can develop powdery white mildew which will quickly spread amongst the other zinnia plants. This is a pest of a problem and can greatly reduce the number of blooms you get, while also shortening the life of the plants. When you see the mildew forming, spray the plants.
If you plan on growing flowers to cut, you should give succession sowing some thought. As the flowers begin to slow down, you will want another batch ready to go in the ground. That said, I have had pretty good luck with my zinnias and I’ve not needed to succession sow.
One of the great things about zinnias is that the more frequently you cut them, the more blooms you will get. So be sure to make loads of bouquets and when you see a flower head dying, remove it.
Cutting and Vase Care
Cutting zinnias too soon or too late results in a low quality flower with a very short vase life.
To avoid cutting them too early, you will need to do a “wiggle” test.
Take the stem between your fingers and wiggle it. If the head swings frantically to and fro, it is not ready to cut. Only cut when the head moves as one with the stem because if you cut it too soon, the stem will droop and your flower will basically be a waste.
You should also cut the flower before the little yellow “inner flowers” are fully opened. You can cut it after these flowers have opened but the flower might not look too fresh.
Unlike other cut flowers that you can pretty much put into a vase and enjoy, zinnias have a reputation for being a dirty flower.
This means they will make the water in your vase go quite murky and this can shorten the vase life of both the zinnias and whatever other beautiful things you have in your vase. Adding a touch of bleach to the water will help.
You should think about investing in some cut flower food, which you can use to give your flowers some extra time to make you happy.
Happy planting 🙂
Seed suppliers
Seeds for Africa – https://www.seedsforafrica.co.za/search?q=zinnia
Kirchoffs Seeds – https://www.kirchhoffs.co.za/product-category/flowers/zinnia/
Flower Cartel – https://www.theflowercartel.co.za/shop/
Adene’s Flowers – https://www.adeneflowers.co.za/products/consumer-goods
Mayford Seeds – https://mayford.co.za/product-category/flowers-seeds/
Starke Ayres – https://www.starkeayres.com/products/home-gardening-seed/flowers/zinnia-peppermint-stick
If you are in the Lowveld, check out Concrete and Garden Creations
