Elegant Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Elegant zinnia, more often called common zinnia or simply zinnia in the United States, fills summer gardens with bright flowers that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. It comes from Mexico, where wild plants have small purple flowers around a dark center. Gardeners grow many colors, sizes, and flower forms.

Appearance

Growth form: An upright that grows about 6 in to 3 ft (15–90 cm) tall, depending on the .
Leaves: Broad, rough leaves grow in opposite pairs along the stem.
Flowers: Garden forms come in white, cream, pink, red, purple, green, yellow, orange, salmon, and bronze, including striped and bicolored types. Giant forms reach 6 in (15 cm) across.
Flowering time: Blooms in summer and fall, until frost.
Fruit: Forms small, dry fruits, each containing one seed.

Look-alikes

Narrowleaf zinniaZinnia angustifolia

Look for much narrower leaves and usually smaller, simpler flower heads. Elegant zinnia has broader, rough leaves, though garden can blur the difference.

Why they get mixed upBoth are colorful summer garden zinnias.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Gardens
Flower beds
Cutting gardens
Range: Native to Mexico. In the US it is grown as a garden annual and occasionally shows up outside gardens.
Preferred conditions: Needs full sun (6 or more hours a day) and rich, well-drained soil. It handles drought well, but shade and damp conditions invite powdery mildew.

Growing it

Propagation: Easy to grow from seed sown directly in the garden after the last frost date.

Name and classification

About the name: Zinnia violacea is an older name for the same species.
Varieties and forms: Garden forms may have single or double flowers in many colors. The compact 'Profusion' series comes from a cross with narrowleaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia), so these plants are hybrids rather than this species alone.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: Tall cultivars are popular for cut flowers in U.S. gardens.
'Youth-and-age' is an older English name for this long-blooming flower.

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