Why We Grow so Many Zinnias as Small Scale Flower Farmers
One of the questions small scale flower farmers may ask is “What all should I grow as a small scale flower farmer?” and that’s a difficult question to ask (because as I’ve mentioned previously, it all is dependent upon circumstances and context).
However, if I had to pick one flower to grow, I would pick something that is
A) prolific
B) has a long bloom window during the growing season,
C) has a long harvest window
D) is economical and easy to grow without requiring a lot of extra babying
E) can tolerate extreme weather conditions during its season and
F) has a lot of versatility as far as a design element.
And while there are plenty of flowers that can fit these traits, I also just would like a flower that is near and dear to me - and that’s the humble zinnia.
We grow a lot of zinnias as a small scale flower farmer - they are over 50% of our plantings in the warmer summer months - and I’m actually contemplating moving them to 75% of our plantings. I do have a specific intention with planting so many zinnias which I’ll share with you later, but just know that they have always been a staple on our farm and will continue to be for many reasons.
Now before you start telling me about how you’re so over zinnias and they’re so common, I would like to tell you that I actually agree with you - zinnias are extremely common because they are so easy to grow that even beginning gardeners can do very well with them. I think this is actually a plus because it’s a flower that has a very low threshold to success and can allow a flower farmer - even a small scale flower farmer - to find success with them.
But let me share with you some of the reasons why we grow so many zinnias as small scale flower farmers:
Zinnias are easy to grow
First off, zinnias are easy to grow. They’re a flower that pretty much anyone can grow and can thrive in just about any adverse environment - dry, hot, humid, high wind - and grow vigorously and prodigiously. They can be started in trays or seed blocks, or can be direct sown in the ground, and will do quite well.
They’re also an easy plant to maintain - you don’t really have to do much trellising or support since they are pretty much self supporting, there’s no intensive pinching or training involved, and aside from needing to harvest or deadheading and the occasional powdery mildew issue, they’re very self sustaining.
(Main exception is of course if you live in an area that is cool and wet.
Zinnias are tough
I’ve never met a plant that could take so much abuse and thrive the way that they do.
Forget to water them? No worries, they might be a little bit slower to grow and flower, but they’ll figure out a way all the same.
Behind on deadheading them? Hey, just means that you’ve already started the seed-saving process for next year.
Don’t like where they’re growing? You can literally pull them up by the roots and plant them into a new section - they will keep on growing as if nothing happened.
Have a small crack in your sidewalk? No problem, zinnias have it covered - they’ll grow and bloom as best they can.
Add in the point that you even can take cuttings from them - just taking a section of the stem and popping it into some potting mix allows you to clone them without any special humidity chamber or misting setup, and you have to garner some respect for this humble and oftentimes overlooked plant.
In the words of the great Titus Andromedon, “I’m pretty, but tough. Like a diamond. Or beef jerky in a ballgown.”
Zinnias Do Well In Our Environment
As I’ve discussed, previously, we live in an environment that is high desert which means that it is hot, dry and in times very windy. Well, this is wonderful for winter conditions. The issue is that it doesn’t usually make for great flower growing conditions. Yes, yes I know why would you start growing flowers in an environment that doesn’t necessarily favor Ideal conditions for garden flowers
There’s several issues that cause most of our plants to grow very short, and
But do you know what flower grows well in our hot and dry and arid environment without fail?
That’s right, zinnias.
Come rain or shine, cold temps or temperatures over a hundred degrees, the zinnias continue to produce blooms unfettered by any circumstances, faithfully blooming all the way until frost.
(You can continue to struggle to grow flowers that don’t do especially well - or you can choose the flowers that are well adapted to your environment)
Zinnias have very few GROWING limitations
Dahlias for example are great, but they have a few challenges including the propagation and distribution of tubers, the overwintering, dividing and storage of said tubers, Japanese beetle damage and the major issues with gall that are occurring within the industry currently may hamper their continued growth as a good cut flower (not to mention that the dinnerplates and anemone varieties have a lousy vase life that is better suited for same-day event work).
Lisianthus are the darlings of many flower farmers, but they have their issues too. A tremendously long production time ties up the space for growers and leaves them vulnerable to all sorts of issues during that long growth period - any error will cause them to stop growing or flower prematurely. There’s also the issue of their production being relatively low in comparison to the amount of input and time required for them, and despite their cult following there is a significantly steep barrier of experience, time, effort and money to invest into lisianthus as a cut flower.
Tulips are another favorite of many flower farmers, but their limited season means that they are generally all coming on at once which can cause distribution problems (even with a cooler and proper planning). Add in the fact that they are a one-and-done cut, their bulbs are not inexpensive, require extra hassle and charge for shipping and transportation and also require you to fight to obtain your selected varieties (which may also be canceled at any point) and the fact that similar to the dahlia trade, tulips are starting to show more incidence of tulip fire and other disease issues - likely due to the increased quantity of bulbs being produced and shipped everywhere.
Roses are the OG cut flower, but unless you live in a region like ourselves (hot and dry and arid) you’re likely having to do a lot of maintenance and care for them to prevent blackspot and other fungal issues. Japanese beetles, aphids, rabbits and deer are also pest problems, and the initial investment into roses can be a rather high expenditure given that even the smallest rose plant costs at least twenty-something dollars. There’s also the issue that roses aren’t quite as productive as we might like, going through flushes of blooms that while are not insignificant, can be unpredictable given weather and conditions and the rose’s preference.
Mums are a great cut flower, but are limited as far as their production and harvest window - for many individuals only just starting before their first frost, and even then are fairly limited in terms of their overall production. We grow them as supplementary blooms for our other flowers, but only rely on them for a few weeks in the autumn (if that).
So that’s why zinnias are great. Easily obtained and shipped (a packet of seeds is nothing compared to tubers or rhizomes or bulbs) and easily grown from seed (approximately 75-85 days to flower as opposed to the nearly 150 days for a lisianthus) and amazingly productive for the entire growing season makes them unmatched within the cut flower industry.
Zinnias fulfill a lot of design elements
Zinnias are great because of their overall form and appearance and colors. I think they’re actually one of the most versatile flowers that you can utilize in an arrangement because they can fit and fulfill so many roles in terms of floral material elements.
You need a large and ruffled focal flower? Get yourself a large and ruffled Benary Giant zinnia.
You need a small and delicate filler flower? The Zinderella series work well for adding those tiny little elegant accents.
You need a muted-tone flower that can bridge between blush and burgundy? Queen Red Lime zinnias work great.
And with the new color varieties that breeders like Erin of Floret Flower Farm, Cori of Dawn Creek and Tiffany of Blomma Flower Farm are coming up with, the potential for zinnias as cut flowers are just beginning.
When we sold to florists, they would consistently buy the pastel-colored zinnias for many of their weddings (with the occasional order for the richer berry tones and warmer orange colors as well) because they work well within color palettes, and the muted-tone zinnias work well as “bridge” elements between different colors schemes too. And as we’ve developed our design business, we taken to using them in the same way.
Zinnias don’t ship well
Zinnias don’t ship - they don’t survive the usual shipping methods that other flowers like tulips or poppies or sunflowers do. The only way that you can transport zinnias is in a bucket of water - so it means that zinnias are only available locally.
Why is this a plus? Wouldn’t you ideally want a flower that can ship and transport well? If you were a large scale flower grower, you definitely would. And that’s probably the reason why large scale growers have never pursued growing zinnias - they’re not a product that works with their business model, and likely never will.
That’s where the local grower comes in. A local grower that can produce designer-quality zinnias (I’m talking about perfectly ruffled, full blooms that are in delicate muted colors, not the sun-burnt half-dead gaudy colors of zinnias that are more commonly associated with personal gardening) could do quite well either selling those zinnias to floral designers or using them to create their own design work.
It’s kind of a nice advantage - a local grower has all the advantages when it comes to providing zinnias. They’re a special flower because they can’t be shipped, and you won’t find them in your local grocery store or even wholesaler, which makes them more rare. Whether that inherently makes them more valuable is up to the market and to you as the marketer, but it does put you in a good position as a local grower.
Zinnias can be an acceptable substitute for other flowers
I’ve been experimenting with substituting the newer colors of zinnias for different focal flowers. Toffee roses for example could potentially be replaced by zinnias if they could be grown in that light cantaloupe coloration, while more expensive and rare dahlia tubers such as KA’s ‘Mocha Katie’ could be subbed for zinnias as well.
You may argue that some of the flowers would never be able to be substituted, and I would agree with you on that it will never perfectly replicate another flower - no matter the color or form. However, if it can be an acceptable substitute, that may be what truly matters.
We do not live in an area with a large flower market like San Francisco or New York City. We don’t even have the flower vendors that larger cities like Dallas or Minneapolis do, and much of the material that comes in are the more basic flower varieties. So we don’t ever really get any of the fun or exotic stuff - or if we do, it has to be shipped in, is subject to supply chain issues and is more expensive overall.
That’s where those zinnias come in. If grown in the correct colors and form, they could potentially be an acceptable substitute for other flowers. If you can’t get your hands on peach-colored ranunculus in August, perhaps I could tempt you with some light peach-colored fully double zinnias? Or if your order for Clearview Peachy dahlias from your local flower farm fell through because they didn’t have enough to harvest, perhaps I could offer you similarly giant-sized large, peachy, fully ruffled zinnias?
There’s also the fact that zinnias are a much more sustainably grown flower if purchased locally - reduced carbon footprint, fewer supplies and materials used in packaging and handling, and don’t necessarily require a lot of inputs for growing out in the field.
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There’s so many reasons to love zinnias, especially as a small scale flower farmer. Over the years, we’ve found ourselves actually planting more and more zinnias since they seem to outperform anything else AND we are utilizing them consistently for arranging and designing with them.
They have become so embedded within our growing and designing that they actually have become part of our branding in a way - when you see a zinnia-heavy arrangement, you can start to identify our arrangements just on the zinnia presence alone!
I’ve also loved working with zinnias so much that I’ve taken to dabbling with breeding our own zinnia strain - we’ve developed a pastel-colored smaller zinnia that I’ve dubbed as ‘Kokoro Garden Mix’ that has really been a joy to work and design with because of their light-colored blooms, and I’m excited as far as the potential of the mix going forward. Last year was the first year that we had enough seed to start cutting and using them in designs, which was an absolute joy.
If you’re interested in learning more about growing zinnias, check out these posts here:
And if you’re interested in small scale flower farming, check out these posts!