Zinnias: A Field Guide

These days the crayon colors of the common zinnia (Z. elegans) are more likely to find their way into a farm stand bouquet than your neighbor’s beds of prize heirloom flowers. But zinnias deserve better.

Truly, zinnias have to be one of the easiest annuals to grow. Not only do they shoot up from seed to flower with astounding speed, zinnias also produce long-lasting colorful flowers from mid-summer to frost. For a cutting or cottage garden, nothing could be easier. With more than 20 species of zinnias (and numerous cultivars), subtler shades of zinnia flowers are easy to find.