Planting Zinnia Seeds

Prepping the Garden

• Choose a sunny spot in your garden, and make sure there is enough room for your zinnias as they grow. Different varieties of the plant require different amounts of space; for example, traditional zinnias should be planted about 6 apart, while the giant variety should be planted about 1 foot apart. Add compost and fertilizer to create a rich soil for your zinnias. Zinnias grown in rich soil can be more full and colorful. The soil should also drain easily.

Planting the Seeds

• If you live in an area that stays chilly well into spring, consider starting your zinnia seeds inside in small pots earlier in the year to give them a head start. Plant them in loose soil that's designed for starting seeds, and water lightly. Move the seeds outside as soon as the weather turns warm.
  You can also plant zinnia seeds directly in the ground once the danger of frost has passed. In general, zinnia seeds should be planted 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep; check the seed packet for specific planting instructions for each variety.
  Once you've planted the seeds, cover them lightly with soil and water. Seeds can germinate in as few as five days; after they've developed two pairs of leaves, thin extra seedlings until the plants are spaced correctly. If you're careful, the plants you remove can be transplanted to another part of the garden.

After Planting

• Zinnias should blossom around mid-summer. Cut off dead flowers to keep the plants growing and blooming. You can also plant new seeds every two weeks, or so, to have continual blossoming throughout the summer. Water the plants regularly, and add fertilizer once or twice during the summer to keep them well-fed. Cutting the flowers keeps the plants from becoming spindly and encourages new flowers to grow; snip a few buds that have just started to open to enjoy indoors.
  Because zinnias are an annual, they will begin to wilt after a light frost, and will die after a hard frost.