(Zinnia elegans) This might be the beginning of a manifesto... do you remember when color actually had color in it? When flowers came in hues other than 100 shades spanning "cafe au lait" to "soft salmon blush." Lets be honest, the proper term is "beige." I know, I know.... "wedding work," but honestly, I don't know who decided that wedding floral design in this country required the most excruciatingly pale color palate on earth, but I suspect they are someone I would not like very much. Call me crazy, but a fully saturated, tropical color-riot dance party of a bouquet feels a lot more celebratory than even the most impressive arrangement of khaki blooms.
Don't get me wrong—I like a good "gentle apricot glow" as much as the next (I mean, we are adding 'Isabellina' zinnia this year), but the current dominant floral color spectrum is starting to get downright oppressive. When did we get so color-phobic? Look, kids don't care about your self important attempts at elegance and profound subtlety, and kids are better people than we are. They know about joy. Stop trying to be so serious.
We challenge you this year to grow some wild and gaudy shades: fully saturated hot pinks, scarlet reds, rich yellows, neon oranges. Put wildly clashing colors together in your bouquets and just see if they dont make you laugh and bring you joy. Look to floral design from other parts of the world for inspiration.
Oklahoma Carmine is a great place to start. Bright, mostly doubled fuchsia pink-purple blooms are smaller than more classic full-sized zinnias, making them less intimidating to work with in arrangements. Long stems and abundant blooms make them very popular as cuts. Perfect for wedding work (wink). 75-80 days. UO
Note: Take care to keep plants from becoming root-bound, and be very gentle when transplanting. If desired, you may sow/transplant every 2 weeks for production flower farming.
PLANTING DEPTH:
1/4"
SPACING:
9-12" in rows 12-18" apart.
EMERGENCE:
3-7 days @ soil temp 75-85F
LIGHT:
Full sun to part shade
FERTILITY:
Medium. Tolerant to most soil types but prefers rich, evenly moist soil with a pH between 6.0-7.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
While not absolutely necessary, you may stake or provide netting to keep them upright and tidy.
Be gentle with the roots when transplanting to avoid stress that can cause more single (as opposed to doubled) flowers.
To encourage branching, pinch back at 12" tall and remove initial bud.
Zinnias appreciate some cooler time and/or shade.
Continue to cut and deadhead, and the plant will be wildly floriferous!
