Zinnias: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Zinnia Flowers | The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Zinnias create a massive burst of color in your garden from summer through the first hard frost of fall. They are annual plants that are best planted from seed. Perfect as cut flowers, they’re also food for butterflies! Learn more about growing zinnias.

Zinnias are annuals, so they’ll grow for one season to produce flowers and seeds, but the original plant will not come back in subsequent years. They have bright, solitary, daisy-like flower heads on a single, erect stem, which makes them great for use as a cutting flower or as food for butterflies.

The most popular zinnia species is Zinnia elegans, which has been bred to produce a great number of unique varieties.

Zinnia flowers come in three main kinds: single, double, or semidouble. The distinction between these forms comes from the number of rows of petals and whether or not the center of the flower is visible:

In addition to these forms, zinnia flowers come in a number of shapes, including beehive, button, and cactus. The plants also come in different heights: taller varieties are best for the background of a garden bed, while shorter varieties work well along a border. There’s a zinnia for every garden!

Plant zinnias in an annual or mixed border garden. Smaller zinnias are suitable for edging, windowboxes, or other containers.

Choosing a location that gets full sun (6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day) is essential to getting plentiful blooms throughout the season. Additionally, a site that offers good air circulation will help to prevent foliar diseases such as powdery mildew later in the season.

Zinnias are able to adapt to most soil conditions, but the ideal soil will be rich in organic matter and well-draining. Soil pH should ideally be between 5.5 and 7.5. If soil is amended with compost (humus), the flowers will grow more quickly. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.

To save zinnia seeds for replanting, simply collect a few blossoms that are at least halfway brown and let them dry in a paper bag until the seeds shatter.

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Roy Baughman (not verified)

3 months 3 weeks ago

Why is my zinnias color fading.

Therese Roemmich (not verified)

3 months 2 weeks ago

In reply to Why is my zinnias color… by Roy Baughman (not verified)

I planted the giant size zinna mix and they are now blooming but the flowers are really small.. I could just cry! Have never had this happen before. What happened?

The Editors

3 months 2 weeks ago

In reply to I planted the giant size… by Therese Roemmich (not verified)

Hi Therese,

It’s hard to know exactly why this happened, but unfortunately it can and did. One reason is when zinnias are overcrowded (planted too close together) they can become stunted and produce smaller flowers. If that is not the case, they may not be getting the necessary amount of sun or it may have to do with the conditions either around planting time or during the growing season. Don’t be discouraged though, as we have all had growing seasons where things just don’t go as planned.

The Editors

3 months 3 weeks ago

In reply to Why is my zinnias color… by Roy Baughman (not verified)

Hi Roy, Zinnia flower colors will often fade with age and in the heat of summer. Sometimes, they’ll even turn colors, depending on varieties. However, new growth simultaneously produced new flushes of bright blooms. Deadhead to encourage more blooms!

Rasool (not verified)

6 months 2 weeks ago

Hi.thank you.

Hans (not verified)

1 year 4 months ago

My first crack at Zinnias. The first concrete pot planted a month agoproduced only six or seven plants, with one only two inches high. I didplace the seeds 3/4 of an inch into the new soil, which what I have red istoooooo deep.

The second pot was all metal and it has excellent growth with mostof the seeds; all of which are about two inches high or more.

A week later I planted another ground based concrete planter with verymix results. Many of the seeds never developed and the ones which did, areonly a little over one inch high.

I use David's Seeds out of Texas.,BTW, this piece was a very, fabulous read, indeed, especially for green hornslike meself.

It is too bad one can not download pictures.

Terri (not verified)

1 year ago

In reply to My first crack at Zinnias. … by Hans (not verified)

Hi Hans, I'm not affiliated with this site, so I don't know if they have some kind of license for people to save the photos. I'm just researching zinnias, like you.

Right-click your mouse over a picture and there are several options (this is called a context menu), one being to "save as" and it will open your file manager and you can browse to where you want to save it.

cheers

J.B. Bulharowski (not verified)

1 year 4 months ago

My zinnia plant had quite a few flower buds (one had bloomed to a gorgeous pink hue) and today I found most of the buds neatly(?) pinched off underneath the plant. Wondered about animal, vegetable (joke) or human hands were responsible for the pruning. The rest of the plant is healthy and tall. Any ideas?

Stephanie G Werner (not verified)

1 year 3 months ago

In reply to My zinnia plant had quite a… by J.B. Bulharowski (not verified)

I have found that birds hack into the stem about 3inches below the bloom and suck out water. Anyone else see this happening?

The Editors

1 year 4 months ago

In reply to My zinnia plant had quite a… by J.B. Bulharowski (not verified)

Could it be a groundhog? They are known to like zinnias. Some chipmunks also like zinnias (especially seeds) and squirrels may occasionally nibble. Deer usually do not like zinnias but may eat them in certain cases. Some rabbits will nip zinnias, with clean cuts, while others avoid these flowers. Birds will go after the seeds and pull petals off. Some of these animals will eat during the night.

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