Zinnias

 

Zinnia is a genus of flowers that is in the sunflower tribe of the daisy family. There are more than 20 species of zinnia. A person with a camera in a zinnia patch can find seemingly endless interesting subjects.

A zinnia flower is what's known as a composite flower made of many individual florets of two kinds: ray florets like petals and disk florets that make up the central yellow ring of this flower. Click to enlarge.

Zinnias come in white, green, pink, orange, red, yellow and purple, with various levels of saturation, and can be more than one color and might be speckled, streaked or patterned.

They come in shapes like buttons, pompoms, dahlia look-alikes, with single or double rows of rays, and even with their rays rolled up quill-style like this "cactus" zinnia.

The genus Zinnia is named for the 18th century German botanist, Johann Gottfried Zinn.

They originated in Mexico. Their native range includes parts of the American southwest.

They are drought-tolerant, able to grow in nutrient-poor soil, and are easy to garden. They make beautiful, long-lasting cut flower arrangements.

They attract pollinators like bees and butterflies and even occasional hummingbirds. Here's my favorite bee, the golden northern bumble bee, visiting a zinnia.

I feel lucky every time I see one of these pretty plush teddy bear bees!

Removing zinnia flowers when they are spent encourages others to grow. They bloom from early summer until the first frost. They will fill your flower vases all through the summer.

And another thing... they can grow without gravity! An orange zinnia flower bloomed on the International Space Station while it was orbiting the Earth. Click here to see it's picture on NASA's website.