Zinnias: Easy, Cheap, and Colorful

by Laurie
(Huntsville, AL, USA)

My favorite annual is the zinnia, primarily because it makes the best cut flowers. The stalks are long and the flowers big. Colors are vibrant and by mixing a variety of types of zinnias it is possible to have a pleasant staggering of sizes of plants in the garden. There are also varieties that are smaller and suitable for container gardens, like pots and planters.

Zinnias are strong flowers with a long growing season in the Southeast, and, importantly, they are drought and heat resistant. A hard frost is what is most likely to end your zinnia harvest since these flowers are also not susceptible to insects or attacks from other pests.

They require little coddling. No special soil mix or fertilizer is needed. Once started, the plants take care of themselves, and other than cutting their flowers for your pleasure, the only task to insure a bountiful supply it to deadhead those flowers you don't cut at their prime. Zinnias are different from most annuals in the Southeast because they do better when seeded directly into the soil instead of being introduced as small bedding plants. This means, of course, that a cutting garden of zinnias is one of the cheapest of summer delights. It does mean, however, that you can't wait until late summer to get started, and you have to forego instant gratification. But a little discipline yields a lot of cheerful color all summer long.

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