Zinnias

Overview: 

Zinnias are one of our summer staples that thrive in the summer heat, even here in Phoenix. We love planting them because they are easy to start from seed, and offer so much color. Traditionally zinnias were tall flower reaching 3-4’ in height. These flowers are in the sunflower family, aster, making them a great companion flower. 

Starting seeds:

Starting zinnia seeds is relatively easy. You can direct seed them into containers, raised beds or in ground when nightly temperatures are consistently in the 50’s. Here in Phoenix that is typically towards the end of march.  Typically our last frost is the end of Febuary, but nightly temperatures are still cool. Waiting until the tempatures go up will help your zinnias grow faster with a better root system. Trust me, our zinnia season here is long, its worth the wait!

If you have a bird or animal problem you can start them inside and transplant them into your beds. sow them 1/4” deep. Check out our seed starting guide for more tips and tricks.

Spacing: 

9-12” 

Sun: 

Full sun, 6-8+ hours per day.

Water:

Zinnias like consistent moisture, when getting established

Fertilizer:

We typically liquid feed zinnias every two to three weeks during their growing season. They do not need a lot of fertilizer, but some keeps that pushing out blooms. Find our favorite fertilizer here.

Potential issues:

The only issues I have seen people run into while growing zinnias is powdery mildew. This is a fungal disease that is mainly caused by high humidity. We are so dry here in Phoenix that its typically not a huge issue. In places where it is an issue, we recommend spacing out your plants more so they can get airflow. 20 -30 percent more spacing should help. Succession planting more frequently may also help, as younger plants can tolerate powder mildew better than an older succession.

Succession plant:

Yes, I definitely recommend succession planting. I’m going to be the first to say that i’m am by no means the best at succession planting zinnias but you can plant these flowers almost all summer long. I typically plant three sucessions of them because out growing season is so long. We do a Spring planting (April) early summer (early June) and mid summer (July) for beautiful zinnias all summer.

If you are looking for a more seasonally curated look, try planting pastel colored zinnias like pink and purple in the spring, and more moodier colors like orange and red as the season progresses. This will give you a bit more seasonality in bouquets, and is easy to do when you are succession planting seeds. 

Favorite Varieties:

Oklahoma:

oklahoma have sight button blooms that are the perfect filler bloom in any bouquet. Okliahomas range in color from salmon, gold, red, pink, ivory and carmine. 

Zinnia Oklahoma 'carmine' and 'salmon' are my two favorite from this series. The salmon has a little more variation of pink to coal that are our of this world!

Benarys Giant:

Like their name, these are big zinnias, probably the largest size of zinnia we grow. We always gravitate towards the salmon rose color. Similar in color to the Oklahoma salmon, but with a bit more variation in color and petals. 

Uproar:

Uproar is a new series that offeres fully double zinnia bloom! We always gravitate towards the uproar rose, as they have beautiful bright neon like blooms. 

Queen:

The queen series is one of my favorite all around series. Beautiful colors, perfect for the fall and boho lovers. 

Queen lime orange offers a soft orange color, perfect for late summer and fall cut flower bouquets. 

Queen lime red is the moodiest color, with mauve burgandy petals with a chartruce tip, they really make a statement in the garden.  

Queen lemon peach is the softest of the queen lime series, offering beautiful ombre from soft apricot to peach. The perfect flower to pair with your summer lemonade. 

Overview:

Zinnias are a great powerhouse in the garden. Give them support, and continue to cut flowers for abundant blooms all season. 

Looking for good varieties suited for containers? Check out our zinnias for containers growing guide here. 

Find all of our favorite zinnia seeds here.