A Guide to Growing Zinnias: Best Varieties & Care Tips

Add Zinnias to your list of flowers to grow in your garden. These easy-care flowers are perfect for the beginner gardener and are so easy to grow! Plus they come in so many colorful varieties. Zinnias are a must-have for every cutting garden.

Zinnias

Why You Should Be Growing Zinnias

Zinnias are one of the easiest annual flowers to grow in your garden. Not only are they great for the beginner gardener because they are simple to grow they are also one of the most colorful flowers to add to your garden!

Zinnias are available in so many brilliant colors, shapes, and sizes! Plus, a pack of seeds is only a couple of dollars.

Best Growing Tips

When to plant

One thing to know about growing zinnias is they love to be warm. Zinnias prefer warm soil so it is worth your while to hold off on planting your seeds until your soil heats up to around 70°.

I live on zone 5b/6a line with the last frost day in mid-May and I hold off on putting my zinnia seeds in until the first week of June with fantastic results.

Check here for your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find out when it is safe to plant annuals in your area.

best soil conditions for zinnias

Zinnias aren’t very fussy in general. In my raised garden beds I add a new layer of organic compost and organic fertilizer in the Spring before planting.

You want a well-draining bed to plant your zinnias, you don’t want them sitting in water.

They are one annual flower that you shouldn’t stress too much about though…zinnias do well even when they are planted in less than optimal conditions.

watering

Again, the unfussy zinnia is pretty drought tolerant. I do water the beds if we don’t have rain right after planting the seeds.

Once they start to grow I mostly depend on the natural rainfall. We are having an exceptionally dry hot Summer in New Hampshire and I have had to water all my garden beds occasionally this Summer.

Disease

Some Zinnias are susceptible to powdery mildew disease but I haven’t had issues with it on any of the varieties that I have grown over the past couple of years.

pinching back

Although this seems counterintuitive a way to get fuller zinnias with more blooms is to do something called “pinching” the plant.

When the zinnia plant is around 12 inches tall you will want to take a pair of sharp, clean garden snips and cut off the stem right about a set of leaves. I know, I know…it feels wrong but it will lead to a better crop of zinnias for you!!!

Planting Zinnias

Although you can start zinnia seeds indoors I personally don’t recommend it (this is my opinion). Unless you live in a very cold climate and want a head start on flowers then start them 4-6 weeks before your last frost.

The transplants are very temperamental and don’t always take when you plant them.

It’s much easier to plant the zinnia seeds once the soil warms up. I planted seeds on a Saturday and had some popping through in under a week!

Plant your zinnia seeds about a 1/4 inch down in the soil. The recommended distance between plants will be on the back of your seed packets.

I’m telling you right now that I don’t follow it and like to have very full garden beds.

Zinnia Varieties To Grow

There are a few different looks to zinnia flowers. There are some that have double blossoms, two-tone varieties, and a few with fluffy centers..so many different looks! They also are available in a wide variety of heights from 1 foot up to 4 feet tall.

I think it looks so pretty to grow a bunch of different colors and heights to create a cottage garden look and feel.

Here are some of the zinnias I have grown that I just love!

01. Queen Lime Orange

The Queen Lime Orange has a limey-yellow center and beautiful coral orange petals. Such a fun flower to have in the garden!

I got my seeds from Floret Flowers. Their seed sale starts in January until they sell out. Sign up for their emails to be notified of the dates.

02. Cupcake Pink

Another fun and colorful addition to my zinnia beds. The pollinators love this one! This is a midsize variety of zinnia getting to about 3 feet tall when full grown.

03. Isabellina

This year I planted 2 different yellow dahlias. The soft buttery yellow of the Isabellina is so lovely. You can see that the bees loved resting between the petals for the night!

Seeds were from Select Seeds

04. benary’s giant lime

The bright lime yellow of these Bernary’s Giant Limes look magnificent in the zinnia bed next to the bright pinks and oranges of the surrounding zinnias. Some of my flowers are almost 3 inches wide!! Really a garden stunner!

You can get them at Select Seeds

05. benary’s giant salmon

This may be my favorite flower in my garden this year! I’ve taken about a million pictures of them so far this Summer! There is someting about how the color runs through the petals with different variations of salmon that I just am in love with!

Another pack of seeds that I bought on Select Seeds

06. Benary’s Giant Carmine

If you are looking for a bright pop of color you have to try the Benary’s Giant Carmine. Definitely a garden show off!

You can find seeds at Select Seeds, Johnny’s, & Floret Flowers.

07. Queen Lime Blush

The Queen Lime Blush zinnias send up a variety of yellowy and pink flowers. Some of the flowers are double flowers but this one is just a single layer of petals.

You can order these seeds from Johnny’s Seeds

08. Jazzy Red Zinnia

The Jazzy Red zinnias are a Mexican zinnia and are much smaller and have compact flower heads. The flowers are only about and inch wide but are quite abundent. The plants themselves are under 18 inches tall. They are perfect for the front of a border or flower bed.

You can find Jazzy Red Zinnia Seeds at Select Seeds

09. Benary’s giant bright pink

The Benary’s Giant Bright Pink is just a gorgeous flower!! It is perfect to use in a bouquet with all of the pretty petals!

My seeds were from Johnny’s Seeds

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Once your zinnias start to flower make sure that you are deadheading the spent flowers but I encourage you to cut them and bring them inside to enjoy them! Cutting will encourage more blooms too.

If you want to start a flower cutting garden but not sure where to start then check out How to Start a Cutting Garden to see how I turned this patch of grass into this beautiful space! Can you believe this is only the second season of this garden!

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