Zinnia are a cutting garden must-have, a real workhorse for the flower arranger with abundant blooms, long stems and a long flowering window. Available with single or double blooms in a huge range of beautiful colour palettes, they’re also much loved by bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Seed Sowing
Don’t sow too early as Zinnia do not like the cold and prefer not to have their roots disturbed. Ideally direct sow in the soil around Mid-May or in modules from April. Sow into drills 30cm apart and thin to 5cm in the row. Make sure the beds have a fine tilth and are weed free.
Transplanting
If sowing in modules, transplant outside once seedlings are established around mid-May, spacing 30cm apart. Zinnias can also be grown in containers.
Plant Care
Keep the area weed-free and watered during hot spells. You can mulch around the plants to keep in moisture and prevent weeds. Deadhead to prolong flowering. Stems may need support, especially in windy growing conditions.
Challenges
Zinnia are generally pest and disease-free but can be prone to powdery mildew or bacterial wilt. Make sure to use the recommended spacing and not-overwater to keep the plants happy and less vulnerable to aphids and spider mites.
Harvest
Pick the flowers often to encourage more flowers to form; they will usually flower for around 10-12 weeks. Ideally harvest the flowers in the morning when temperatures are low and plant water content is high. Plants will arrange better if left to sit in water for a few hours after cutting.
Culinary Ideas And Uses
Zinnia petals are edible and make a delightful addition to salads, desserts or ice cubes with their pop of colour and delicate feathery forms.
Seed Saving
Harvest the individual flowers as they dry or whole plants once most of the flowers on the stem have dried. Lay out on a sheet to dry further and thresh by hand and winnow to clean the seeds.
Zinnias are cross-pollinated by insects with other varieties if grown together. If growing for seed make sure to keep varieties separate to ensure the characteristics of your saved seed will be true to type.
Store in a cool dark place; seeds should remain viable for up to 5 years.
Most popular Zinnia Seeds
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Zinnia – Dwarf Mix (Organic)
£1.85 Add to basketZinnia – Dwarf Mix (Organic)
A staple flower for the garden, bright coloured blooms on straight stalks. This dwarf mix of Zinnias grow to around 30cm tall. They produce blooms of varying shades of pink, adored by bees and butterflies. We love to plant zinnias in among our vegetable crops. The dwarf varieties take up less space but are equally beautiful to their taller cousins.
(Approximate seed count – 100)
£1.85 -
Zinnia – Zinderella Peach (Organic)
£2.45 – £5.00 Add to basket This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageZinnia – Zinderella Peach (Organic)
Stunning scabious-flowered variety producing blooms of creamy peach, salmon and apricot. This beautiful variety is a new favourite for us. Its delicate colour palette and long strong stems makes it ideal for bouquets.
£2.45 – £5.00 -
Zinnia – Queen Blush Lime (Organic)
£2.65 Add to basketZinnia – Queen Blush Lime (Organic)
A truly unique zinnia producing blooms of lime green and purple. This stunning variety is really quite other-worldly. There are not many flowers which are green but this is one and it’s quite remarkable.
The green flowers are blushed with contrasting purple, creating a zingy electric effect. A real show-stopper!
(Approximate seed count – 75)£2.65 -
Zinnia – Polar Bear (Organic) ***NEW FOR 2025***
£2.65 Add to basketZinnia – Polar Bear (Organic) ***NEW FOR 2025***
*** This year’s crop is currently being processed and tested – we hope to get everything ready for 1 November catalogue launch ***
A white zinnia variety ideal for the cutting garden. Polar Bear is a dahlia-flowered zinnia producing an adundance of large white flowers with pale yellow centres on tall stems that keep going the more you pick.
(Approximate seed count – 75)£2.65
