Plant record

Zinnia

Zinnia elegans

Zinnias are the cheerful kind of practical. They bring pollinators, cut stems, and color that makes the vegetable bed feel invited to a party.

Rankspeciesreviewed

GenusZinniaAsteraceae

Species anchorZinnia elegansThis record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

Library score94/100deep plant record

Garden timing

Start indoors 2 to 4 weeks before last frost if you want earlier bloom.

Direct sow after frost in warm soil; repeat for fresh cut stems.

Transplant after nights have settled and roots are not cramped.

Succession rhythm: about every 21 days.

Space-saving method: grow with stake support.

Plant intelligence

Use compact types in one square, or place taller cutting types where airflow and staking are easy.

cut flowerpollinatorbeneficial insectedge plant

Lifecycle: annual

Habit: upright warm-season annual flower

Height: 12-48 inches

Spread: 10-18 inches

Germination: 3-10 days

Sow depth: 0.25 inches

Bloom: summer, fall

Attracts: bees, butterflies, hoverflies

Record score

94/100deep plant record

Taxonomy confidence94Zinnia elegans in Asteraceae; 2 cached source references.

Square-foot usefulness921 per square with stake support.

Timing and care depth1003 planting windows, 60F minimum soil, 2 cautions.

Species and variety drill-down1003 variety or cultivar options attached.

Annual flower intelligence90high pollinator value.

Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.

Species identity

This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

ScientificZinnia elegansFamilyAsteraceaeLookup namesZinnia, Zinnia elegans, common zinnia, cut-and-come-again zinnia

Garden decision matrix

Square-foot fit1 per square

92Use compact types in one square, or place taller cutting types where airflow and staking are easy. Support: stake.

Season behaviortender

100Indoor start. Direct sow. Transplant. Repeat about every 21 days.

Care loadmoderate water

74Needs airflow to avoid powdery mildew. Do not rush into cold wet soil. Soil minimum 60F.

Bed ecosystem rolecut flower, pollinator

90high pollinator value; pink, red, orange, yellow.

Variety depth3 options

100Choose compact bedding types for vegetable-bed edges and Benary or Oklahoma types for cut stems.

Species and variety notes

Choose compact bedding types for vegetable-bed edges and Benary or Oklahoma types for cut stems.

Profusionseries

86small-bed fit

Better for tidy square-foot edges than tall cutting rows.

Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: match timing and spacing to the rest of the bed.

compact, disease tolerant, edge plant60-70 days12-18 inches tall

Benary's Giantseries

72small-bed fit

The workhorse cutting zinnia, best with airflow and support.

Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: needs edge placement or support so it does not shade smaller crops.

cut flower, large bloom, long stem75-90 days36-48 inches tall

Oklahomaseries

72small-bed fit

A generous series for steady bouquets without giant heads.

Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: match timing and spacing to the rest of the bed.

cut flower, smaller bloom, productive75-90 days30-40 inches tall

Companions

tomato, basil, pepper, cucumber

Cautions

Needs airflow to avoid powdery mildew.

Do not rush into cold wet soil.

External enrichment

Cached name: Zinnia elegans. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.

Open enrichment JSON

Data layers

FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.

GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.

USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.

Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.

API source score

Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.

Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.

USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.

GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.

iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.

USDA PLANTS Database

Plant identity, taxonomy, nativity, and conservation flags.

Source reference

GBIF Species API

Accepted scientific names, taxonomy matching, and occurrence context.

Source reference

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