Zinnia Elegans Salsiando

Zinnia elegans Salsiando has two very distinctive colour combinations.  Scarlet is the theme across all the flowers. Scarlet is the theme across all the flowers. Some plants thrust up blooms of scarlet petals with golden tips, while others feature scarlet petals with creamy-coloured tips. Put together like this they're rather magnificent!. It was an inspired choice by Dutch breeder Van Hemert & Co. to bring the 'Macarenia' and 'Mazurkia' varieties together in one mixture.

🌸 Flowering: mid-summer to the first frosts 
📏 Height: 65-75cm
🌿 Annual 
💧 Drought tolerant when established

Sow:  during March to April in pots or modules of seed compost, cover lightly with no more than 3mm as a little light helps with germination.  Keep at about 18ºC.  Germination takes 1-2 weeks. Uncover and grow on in cooler conditions. Harden off ready to plant out after last frosts. Be gentle with the root ball. Space plants about 30cm apart.  Alternatively sow thinly outside in a sunny bed after all risk of frost has passed (May/June). Thin as they grow on.

Grow: they are best planted in a rich garden soil in full sun. Once their roots are settled in they can handle dry spells and hot summer conditions well, though they produce the best blooms with occasional, deep watering.

Enjoy: that scarlet lends itself beautifully to a ‘hot planting’ theme, if themes rock your borders. Otherwise just fit them in and prepare to be stunned.

🏡 In your garden

•    Urban and courtyard gardens
•    Cottage and informal gardens
•    Patio pots and containers
•    Mixed borders and beds 
•    Pollinator plantings
•    Cutting gardens

✂️ Cut flower

•    Cut when the stem is stiff and the flower head stays rigid. If the stem bends or the flower head wobbles, it’s too young and likely to wilt quickly.
•    Strip off the lower leaves and pop the stems into a bucket of lukewarm water
•    Leave them for several hours in a cool, shady place to condition before arranging
•    Fresh vase life of 7 to 10 days
•    Every few days wash the vase, refill with lukewarm water and retrim the stems 
•    Late-season cut zinnias don’t last as long as those cut in early to mid-season

🐝 Pollinator friendly

•    RHS Plants for Pollinators recommended
•    The long blooming season provides food for pollinators right into autumn
•    Attract bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies

💡 Did you know?

Zinnias have come a very long way! Their story starts with wild flowers in Mexico, familiar to the Aztecs long before they reached European gardens. In the 18th century they were studied by German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn, which is where the name Zinnia comes from.
Generations of breeding, particularly during the 19th century, brought larger flowers, doubles and the glorious colours we now take for granted.
Mexico to Europe wasn't the end of their travels. Zinnias have even been grown aboard the International Space Station as part of NASA's experiments into growing flowering crops in space. Now that's quite a journey for a flower!