How to Grow Zinnias Easily

I’m getting ready to add border flowers along our patio edge. There are several flowers that make great additions to a patio border, such as zinnias. Today, I want to talk to you about how to grow zinnias in your spring garden.

Zinnias are great flowers to add to your spring or summer garden. I grew some from seed last year and they did not disappoint. My zinnias grew a few feet tall and rebloomed colorful flowers for several months.

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Why Grow Zinnias?

If you are a beginner gardener, these are great flowers to start with. If you are hesitant to grow them from seeds, garden centers have plants you can start with as well.

Zinnia flowers are easy to grow and will produce plenty of flowers during the growing season. One plant will keep reblooming when grown correctly. Counting on what variety you get, each flower may be a different color as well!

If you want to attract pollinators to your garden, plant zinnias. Hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other insects and birds will come from all over to feast on your colorful zinnias. Add zinnias to your hummingbird and butterfly garden to keep attracting these critters back.

Grow Zinnias from Seeds

I am really enjoying growing plants from seeds. It takes weeks to a few months to see flowers, but it’s really rewarding to grow a plant from seeds.

If you choose to grow zinnias from seeds, there are many great seed resources out there. I wrote a post on where to get seeds from that you can read too.

The latest packets of seeds I bought were from Walmart. They sell several brands of seeds at great prices. There are plenty of places to buy seeds online and at other retailers as well.

I have a mini indoor greenhouse but also use egg crates. Purchase some seed starting soil to help those seeds germinate.

Plant more seeds than you plan to grow since some will not sprout. Once my seedlings grew taller than the egg crate lids, I would transfer them to a container or ground.

This is also a good time to thin the seedlings out. Since you plant more seeds than you need, you will have many seedlings trying to grow in small spaces. You want to get rid of the stragglers so they don’t prevent other nearby seedlings from growing.

There are several ways you can do this. You can clip the weaker seedlings to be level with the soil. You can also transplant the smaller seedlings to another place to let them grow where they will have more room to do so.
If you are going with option one, use garden scissors to snip off the weaker seedlings.

Grow Zinnias from Plants

Another option is to purchase plants from a local gardening store or online gardening supplier. When I first started gardening, this is how I would grow plants. Since I lived in an apartment with a balcony, I would buy plants small enough to fit in containers.

I would purchase plants a little smaller than the containers they would grow in to give them room to fill out. It worked great and still does!

Grow Zinnias in Pots

Once you find plants that you like, you will want to purchase or find containers that will be a little larger than your zinnias.

If you find zinnias in pots at the store, oftentimes they are already planted in a pot. If zinnias are not available to purchase that way, then you can buy zinnia seeds and grow them yourself. Zinnia plants are really easy to take care of! Here is what you need to do:

First, fill your pot with soil. The zinnias will be happy if the pot has good quality soil.
Make sure there is enough space for roots to grow without being crowded or too hot from the sun.
Plant zinna seeds about an inch deep in the center of each hole in your container (or where ever else you decide). Fill it up with plenty of potting soil.
Water zinnias when the soil gets dry. They love warm water, so use a sprayer to avoid damaging the stems and leaves of your zinnia plants.
Keep zinnas in full sun for at least six hours each day if possible. A southern exposure is best because it will provide plenty of heat all day long throughout most seasons in most climates

Make sure your container has holes at the bottom. Water needs to be able to drain from your container. If there are no holes, water will sit at the bottom, rotting the roots and ultimately killing your plant. You don’t want that to happen!

Fill the bottom of your chosen pot with potting soil. I usually use Miracle-Gro Potting Soil, but lately have been using a hybrid mix that works great. Gently pull the zinnias out of the plastic pot they came in.

Update: Since we moved to a new place with no dirt on the ground, I planted all of my zinnias in pots and raised garden beds this year. I started all my seeds in the containers and they did fairly well.

Once I placed potting or raised garden mix in the containers, I added a thin layer of seed starting mix on top. Once this was watered, I planted three seeds at a time several inches apart. I then covered these seeds with a thin layer of starting mix, then watered the entire container again.

Next year, I need to space out the seeds more, but its hard when there is so much I want to grow! I noticed the zinnias that were spaced farther apart grew better than the ones I kept close together. Gardening is still a learning process for me!

Grow Zinnias in the Ground

I decided to grow my zinnias along the edge of my patio. I cleared the ground of weeds and debris. I then laid a thin layer of ground soil on top of the soil already there. Once my seedlings were ready, I carefully scooped each out with my hand shovel and placed them in a small hole I made.

I spaced out each seedling by about 6 inches to give them room to grow. I then lightly watered each seedling. Despite some heavy rain we have had, they seem to be doing well!

If you plan on growing more mature plants in the ground, you want to get the soil ready before planting. Make sure you know your soil before planting. The ground around here is clay-based, so mixing with in-ground garden soil helps make it less dense.

Spread about two to three inches of the garden soil on the ground where you will be planting. Mix into the native soil about six to eight inches deep. Dig a hole that is deep enough for your zinnia plant.

When you take your plant out of the plastic container, gently pull on some of the roots. This will let the plant know it can start spreading out. Place the plant in the hole and fill the surrounding area with soil.

An optional step is placing a few inches of mulch around your new zinnia plant. This helps keep the moisture in the ground and discourages weeds from growing.

Caring for Your Zinnia Flowers

Once your zinnias are planted, give them plenty of water. Zinnias prefer moist soil, so once they are settled and mature, give them a deep watering several times a week. Don’t overwater though!

You can always adjust your watering schedule, based on how wet the soil is BELOW THE SURFACE. You can buy a soil moisture meter or do it by hand. Stick your finger all the way to the second knuckle to feel for moist soil.

Containers will need more water since they dry out quickly, so keep this in mind when watering your containers.

Add fertilizer to get bigger and more frequent blooms from your zinnia plants. You can mix fertilizer into your soil when you first plant a mature zinnia. I’ve used Miracle-Gro’s all-purpose fertilizer but was recently introduced to Dr. Earth fertilizer.

Both work great. Just remember to fertilize a wet plant. A dry plant that is fertilized can burn and die. Trust me, I’ve had this happen to my plants before!

How to Deadhead Zinnias

The zinnia plant will produce many blooms over the course of its life, but eventually, you’ll notice that its flowers are no longer full or vibrant. At this point, deadheading is a good idea to encourage your zinnias to keep on flowering and producing more!

Zinnias are easy flowers to deadhead. All you need to do is pluck the deadhead from the stem of your zinnia. Be careful not to damage any new buds that will soon follow!

How to Harvest Zinnias

-One thing zinnias are known for is their long shelf life in bouquets, making them perfect flowers for cutting and bringing indoors. You can cut zinnia blooms at almost any time throughout its growing season (zinnias actually bloom all summer!)

Blooms on zinnias usually come in few colors—reds, pinks, oranges, yellows—but there are also some varieties like ‘Profusion White’ or ‘Magellan Mix’, which provide other color options if you’re looking for zinnias in a specific color.

Questions About How to Grow Zinnias

Below are some common questions about growing zinnias. Let me know if you have other questions about zinnias in the comments below as well.

Do Zinnias Grow Well in Pots?

Zinnias grow very well in pots!

You should create zinnia pots in order for this flower to grow properly. Zinnias need a lot of space and nutrients, so zinnia plants do not fare well when planted in the ground or with other zinnia plants that are too close together.

The most important thing you can do is ensure your zinnia pot has good drainage holes at the bottom, which will allow excess water to escape without making your plant soggy!

Do Zinnias Need Deep Pots?

Zinnias can grow in all kinds of pots. A zinnia does not need a deep pot, but it needs soil that drains well. Make sure your zinnia’s drainage holes are clean and free of debris to help maintain good drainage.

I grow some of my zinnias in plastic pots, but any type of pot that is simple or more elaborate will do.

Do Zinnias Need Full Sun?

Zinnias do not need full sun. In fact, zinnias can tolerate some shade and still produce beautiful blooms!

Your zinnias need bright light; however, they also need some shade every once in a while since direct sunlight can be harsh on their leaves (which fade quickly) as well as burn them if exposed for too long.

How Do I Keep Zinnias Blooming?

Zinnias are a flower that typically has one to three blooms per zinnia plant. If you want zinnias to continually bloom throughout the summer, it is recommended to deadhead the zinnia flowers after they fade and remove them from the zinnia plants.

To help keep your zinnias blooming, give it regular water weekly or more often if necessary.

Do You Pinch Out Zinnias?

When zinnias are young, you can pinch out their growing tips to encourage them to bush out. Pinch the zinnias plant back by its stem when it is developing five sets of leaves. Zinnia plants have long stems, so they will need staking if you do not pinch them back.

Pinching helps encourage your plants to grow long stems, making these flowers great for cutting and admiring in bouquets!

Types of Zinnia Flowers

Just like with other flowers, there are a variety of zinnia flowers to choose from. Some varieties of zinnia flowers include:

Giants of California-These zinnias can grow up to 3 feet tall and come in an assortment of colors
Zesty Mix-This variety comes in brightly colored flowers
Semi Dwarf Pumila-This smaller variety grow up to 18 to 24 inches and come in pretty pastels
Raspberry Lemonade Mix-These summery flowers grow in pink, yellow, and white with pink stripes
Amethyst Treasure-This hybrid blooms in a vibrant purple.
Early Bird-These zinnias bloom small, colorful flowers and grow up to 20 to 25 inches tall.
State Fair Mix-This is a variety of large colorful blooms.
Queen Lime Orange-These stunning flowers come in a combination of green and orange.
Cut and Come Again-Double blooms in orange, pink, white, and yellow make these stand out.
Candy Cane Mix-This heirloom variety grow flecked and striped flowers.

Check out more great varieties of zinnia seeds at Botanical Interests!

Zinnia Flower Facts

Sometimes I like adding fun facts about flowers. Maybe you will find some of these facts interesting! Here are some facts about zinnia flowers:

Zinnia flowers are originally from South American, Mexico, and Southwestern United States.
They were thought of as ugly flowers before zinnias became popular.
Zinnias symbolize friendship
These flowers are self sowing; they can scatter seeds without help
The name zinnia comes from the German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn
Zinnias come in just about any color, besides blue, and can be multi-colored, based on the variety
Zinnias make great cut flowers and can last up to a week after being cut.

Pictures of Zinnias in Pots

Here are some pictures of zinnias in pots and other containers. I hope these will help inspire you to grow your own zinnias in various pots and containers on your patio or on your porch. There are so many ways to enjoy zinnias growing like this!