Tag: Zinnia

Plants of the Month: The annuals (September 2025)

If your own space is looking ‘a bit green’ at the moment, think about adding annuals to liven up your garden in 2026.  Here are a few I highly recommend:

Zinnia

Zinnia 'Sprite Mixed'

This year I’ve grown Zinnia elegans SPRITE MIXED at my allotment and they are looking good – tall, healthy, robust, colourful and bee-friendly. I am very pleased with them, as the flowers themselves are a mixture of vibrant and subtle shades, and, as an added bonus, no signs of stem rot (fungi/bacteria more prevalent in warm, wetter summers that attack the stems).

I sowed the seed straight into the soil in two rows.  Two or three weeks later, I thinned the seedlings and replanted those thinnings into a third row. So, they are tightly packed and they don’t seem to mind that and I don’t need to stake them.  Flowering from July to October, this robust variety is perfect for displaying in gaps in borders or containers. And ideal for picking, although I don’t have the heart to do that yet!

Continue reading Plants of the Month: The annuals (September 2025)

My Zinnia success

I sowed these Zinnia seeds directly into the ground in June and replanted the thinnings and ended up with two rows.  This is the first time I have ever grown Zinnias. It was old seed and I probably bought the packet at our plant sale a year or two ago for the going rate of 20p!  

I reckon my success is down to beginner’s luck and the Poundland compost!!!! I have very light soil so I also added the ash from the bonfires and chicken manure pellets before I planted up the plot.  As they are adjacent to my tomato plants I made sure they were watered nearly every day to encourage a good root system.  Yet information online says they only need watering every five to seven days.  I was warned not to get water on their leaves as they are prone to folliar diseases. They are growing adjacent to the boundary fence and I’ve had to support them when the high winds came. 

There are doubles and singles, in various shades of pink and yellow. The bees love them and they are long lasting as cut flowers.  They are the first plants I look at when I arrive at my allotment plot and I coo over them! Margaret grows rich, strong orange Zinnias which knock my Zinnias aside and they are simply stunning.  Definitely a plant to try again next year.

Anna L