Peppermint Stick Zinnia Seeds

The most colorful candy stripe-type zinnia ever grown, Peppermint Stick Zinnia is an annual offering summer through fall interest, typically blooming until first frost. The plant sets continuous armloads of petal-packed cream and yellow blooms, each merrily striped, splashed, and splotched in shades of scarlet, carmine, rose, purple, orange, and vermilion. No two blooms are quite alike. Borne singly at the end of a branch, the 2-inch, composite, daisylike flowers are a great nectar source and attract butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other beneficial pollinators. They make brilliant, long-lasting cuts for bouquets, bright garnishes for salads, and nice dried everlastings. And the more you cut, the more they bloom.

Peppermint Stick, a Zinnia elegans cultivar, also known as common zinnia, is an herbaceous deciduous plant with a dense, bushy, mounding habit of lanceolate leaves and a fast growth rate. Old garden favorites, zinnias are shown to best effect grouped or massed in beds, borders, and patio pots. Peppermint Stick is a perfect choice for a child's garden—kids love the playful mix of colors and patterns.

Extremely easy to grow from seed, zinnias prefer full sun and rich, organic, well-drained loam or soil, raked to a fine tilth. Although zinnias are low maintenance, pinching young plants promotes a more compact, bushier plant and deadheading spent flowers keeps zinnias blooming. They love heat and are drought tolerant and deer and black walnut resistant.

Direct sow zinnia seed after the last frost date, once the soil has warmed, or start seeds indoors, acclimatize sprouts for 10 to 15 days, and transplant seedlings carefully when they are very young, after all threat of frost has passed. Good air circulation is vital for best performance, so provide generous spacing. Succession planting every week or so for several weeks extends the flowering period.