Easy, pretty, everblooming, colorful and great for summer cutting – this about sums up tall zinnias (Zinnia elegans). These easy-to-grow Mexican natives are one of the best summer flowers for long-lasting bed color – if they’re deadheaded and moderately maintained. They’re also great for making quick, vibrant flower arrangements.
Zinnias with large cactus-like blooms look beautiful in table arrangements.
Photo Credit: Jessie Keith
Button flowers create sunny dots of color in the garden and make great fillers in table bouquets.
Photo Credit: Jessie Keith
Zinnias come in a wide range of bright colors.
Photo Credit: Jessie Keith
Getting started is simple. Each spring, in late April to early May, choose the best sunny spot for your zinnias. Clean out the weeds and debris from the area, then work up and smooth the soil. Next, surface-sow the zinnia seed, lightly pat them in and gently water. Within a week or so your seeds will start sprouting up. From there, it’s just a matter of keeping the plants reasonably hydrated and thinned to a foot apart. Growing tall zinnias is that easy!
Zinnia flowers are most spectacular in mid- to late summer, and there are lots of shapes to choose from. Some have single flowers, and others are semidouble. Some have large cactus-like flowers, and some have large dahlia-like blooms. There are also zinnias with small button-like flowers.
What’s more, there are tons of colors available. The pallet includes hues of red, pink, white, green, orange, salmon, yellow and lavender. There are also plenty of bicolors. One of the best color combos – in the garden or in the vase – is a cheerful mix of pink, yellow, green and apricot. This grouping is even more spectacular if flower sizes and textures vary. (Try growing a mix of zinnias that have small button flowers next to ones with large cactus-like blooms.)
The plants vary in height from 1-4 feet, depending on the cultivar. The selections with longer stems are best for cutting. To make a simple zinnia arrangement, choose the freshest flower stems and cut them to approximately 1 foot. Then remove the leaves from the part of the stem that’ll be submerged. Next, gather the flowers into a dense, mounded bunch, trim the bottoms as needed, and place them in an appropriate-sized vase filled with about 2 cups of water spiked with 1 tablespoon of sugared lemon soda (surprisingly the best cutflower food available). Ta-da – enjoy!
There are only a few troubles that can arise when growing tall zinnias. Really tall cultivars can become top-heavy, so they need to be staked. Zinnias can also develop powdery mildew and leaf spot, as well as attract Japanese beetles. To keep my zinnias mildew-free, I gently hand-wash their leaves and space plants well to encourage good air flow. This also discourages outbreaks of fungal spotting. Another option is to plant disease-resistant selections like the Dreamland Series. Generally, I control Japanese beetles by picking them off or covering plants with insect cloth during the few weeks when beetles are most prolific.
Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll have amazing flowers – both in your garden and in your home. There’s nothing more pleasing than going into your flower-filled back yard with just a pair of sharp shears and returning to your house with a bountiful bouquet for the table!
