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Flower Index Index by Family Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 Set 7

Zinnia elegans

Asteraceae (Daisy and Sunflower Family) (Pronounced ass-ter-AY-see-eye )

Pronounced (ZIN-ee-uh El-eh-GANZ) is the most common species with Mexican origins.

I pronounce it Zeen-ya!

There are other species of Zinnia, primarily by location, but they do not seem to be easy to find to purchase.

The name "Zinnia" is in honor of a German botanist, Johann Gottfried Zinn

This plant is an annual flower.

Single flowers have one row of petals and the center can clearly be seen. Sometimes I like the single zinnias best because they are more daisy-like.

Flowers are most often semi-double to double.

The semi-double flowers are have perky petals in several rows and the center is smaller.

The double is more globe-shaped and the center cannot be seen.

Zinnias come in a wide variety of styles and colors. Sometimes it is hard to tell they are a Zinnia! These are all cultivars or hybrids of Zinnia elegan. There is a cactus-shaped variety that I do not like much at all with its shaggy-thin petals. It looks sick to me!

It is best to deadhead the flowers when they are done blooming to encourage more flowers to bloom.

Zinnias are one of the easiest flowers to grow. They also give a big bang for the buck.

I would not buy plants when they grow so easy by just throwing seeds onto the ground. The seeds are easy to save from the flower heads to plant the next season. Often they grow from seeds dropped from the previous year as well.

They love lots of sun and lots of water.

I have learned that the most popular Zinnias sold in stores are tall. In 2024, I am experimenting with shorter varieties to see if I like them better.

Butterflies, birds, and hummingbirds love Zinnias. I have even had the yellow birds pluck the petals right off to get to the seeds more quickly.

Powdery mildew is a problem so it is best not to plant them too close to allow air around the plants.

Note for future: The Profusion Series is a hybrid of Zinnia angustifolia and Zinnia elegans, and are 18 inches tall.

2024 - I grew these.

1. Linearis Zinnia Mix - Livingston Seeds - I liked these. They stayed short to the 6 - 9 inch height. The flower heads were tiny. I ended up loving these next to the Gomphrena and I am certainly going to plant them again.

2. Thumbelina Mix Zinnia - Livingston Seed - I did not like these. I put them in three different places and in one place in the shade they stayed 6 - 8 inches high, but in another in the shade they were 24 inches high and in another place with more sun, they were 36 inches high! There was nothing special about the flower heads either. I do not think I even took photos of them.

3. Zinnia Luminosa Pink - Livingston Seed - I really like these! I plan to try to plant them again. Although at 24 inches they were at the top of my desired height, they were true to size and had beautiful blooms. I loved the color. Some were double flowers and some were semi-double flowers.

4. Zinnia Pinwheel Mixed Colors - Burpee - These never germinated! What a disappointment! I was hopeful with the 12 inch height.

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors - American Seed - These were a huge success. I planted three packets in the front side garden bed and they germinated well and gave a big display with a wide variety of colors, shades of colors, as well as single, semi-double, and double flower heads. They package says 18 to 24 inches in height, but they did get to be 36 inches high or more, so that was a disappointment since I was trying to stay under 24 inches.

I do not remember which packet this was, but the bi-color caught my eye.

3. Zinnia Luminosa Pink

1. Linearis Zinnia Mix.

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors - This is to show a double flower.

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors - This is to show a single flower.

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors - This is to show a semi-double flower.

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors - Single flower

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors - semi-double flower

5. Semi-dwarf Pumila Mixed Colors

2023 - I grew these. Need to find photos.

2023 - Queen Lime Blush Zinnia (from Baker's Creek)

2023 - Polar Bear Zinnia (from Baker's Creek)

2023 - Queeny Lemon Peach Zinnia (from Baker's Creek)

2022

What 544 Zinnias look like! Garden Snippets October 7 2022 - I had so many zinnias left in my one flower bed when the frost was impending that I cut them all and counted them.

What are you thankful for Cape Girardeau? We took our 544 zinnias to downtown Cape Girardeau and offered them for free in exchange for them allowing us to video their hands as they told us what they were thankful for. I was SO blessed by the love I felt between people as they were thankful for each other. There were just way too many zinnias for one living room and they were begging to be shared.