PlantFiles: Zinnia
Zinnia elegans 'Magellan Coral'

I started these from seed indoors and had them out front and blooming by April, matching the color of the small crown-of-thorns behind them. I am thrilled that they are still blooming strongly in late August after a hot humid few months here. As long as I trim off the fading flowers every few days they continue to bloom freely. I did have to spray them with a little Physan for fungus a couple of times, but they did much better than the Dreamland Pink I planted out back, which died in July. I threw the old flowers in the back of the flower bed, where they self-seeded freely. I moved a few of the seedlings up front to extend the row, but had failed to figure they wouldn't come true. I now have some deeper reds and one bright orange zinnia! I will definitely repeat these next year.

My plants have just opened their first blooms from seeds that I started indoors. This was my first time growing these zinnia and every seed did germinate. Although they have shorter stems, they do last for over a week in water and still look fresh. Their large bloom size is impressive to boot. I was so impressed with the coral that I purchased the Magellan seed mix for next season.

Excellent dwarf bedding zinnia which performs well in the heat and humidity of Houston. Compact, uniform plants with fully double, 4-5 inch blooms. Ideal for both bedding and container gardening! 2005 AAS winner. Hybrid.