This Week It's Zinnias

Whether you want a traditional type or something a little different, Graham’s shortlist of zinnias has reliable options for all.

MANY gardeners think that zinnias are unreliable plants. But while that may once have been the case, it certainly isn’t any more. 

It’s true that back when most of the zinnias available were those developed in California, with little consideration of how they would perform anywhere else, they often disappointed British gardeners. But many of the best zinnias now on offer were created in Europe (some actually in Suffolk), while even those developed in California have now been tested in Britain, so things have moved on significantly. 

And at the RHS Garden at Wisley, Surrey, last summer, one of the most spectacular displays seen for many years was of 146 zinnia varieties. In spite of a very difficult season, an amazing 23 of these were given the coveted Award of Garden Merit – a fact that tells us we can now grow zinnias with confidence, even when the weather is unhelpful.

Not only are zinnias more adaptable now, but there are also new types. Along with traditional options – tall, large flowered and vivid in colour – there are neater, prolific, smaller-flowered types, with single or double blooms, often in attractive bicolours. There are also bushy, bred-in-Britain varieties, many of them in lovely sunset shades.

All can be raised as half-hardy annuals, sown in frost-free conditions in April, preferably in cells. For although zinnias are a lot more resilient than they once were, root damage is still something they prefer to avoid. Plant them out around the end of May or early June. And if you missed the boat last month, sow them in cells now.