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| Photo Credit: Jessie Keith |
| Zinnias with large cactus-like blooms look beautiful in table arrangements. |
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.
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. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Jessie Keith | | Button flowers create sunny dots of color in the garden and make great fillers in table bouquets. |
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.)
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