The discreet beauty of a harmonious garden is created quite easily. One of the brightest representatives of annual plants that are loved by many flower growers is Zinnia Graceful. The cultivation of this plant is quite simple, because it is unpretentious to the care and growing conditions.
If zinnia is chosen to create a landscape design, a description, care features and basic requirements are what you need to know about this plant.
Zinia Description: Origin and Appearance
Zinnia is an annual shrub, representative of the Astrov family. It is endemic to Central and South America. Also in nature, sometimes perennial shrubs are found. Almost all varieties of plants are resistant to heat, have a bright and saturated color.
Zinnia Graceful
Important! Externally, the flowers look like small baskets with a long stalk. Flowering is quite long, directly depends on the variety. After the flowering period, seeds appear on the site of the basket.
How to: Zinnia or Zinnia?
Some gardeners are interested in the question - zinnia or zinnia, how to write? If you translate the name of the flower from Latin, both variants of pronunciation are possible.
Plant flower description
Zinnia leaves resemble an egg in shape; their apex is slightly pointed. They are densely located on the stem.
Inflorescences are located in the form of single baskets. They are quite large in size, located on thickened peduncles. The color of the petals can be varied:
- yellow;
- red;
- white;
- pink;
- purple;
- cherry;
- lilac.
In place of the inflorescence, at the end of the flowering period, an achene remains - this is the fruit. In decorative landscaping, such annual types of zinnia are used as zinnia narrow-leaved and zinnia graceful. Such plants are used to create flower beds with zinnias, they can also be planted in a pot to create the external design of walls, arbors and arches.
Zinnia narrow-leaved
Use in landscape design
In landscape design, all varieties of plants are used. They are used to decorate flower beds, large arrays, to create beautiful bouquets. For example, Zinnia Zinnia with terry blossoms is suitable for creating a summer composition in combination with larger flowers.
Zinnia Graceful
Dahlia (Dahlia)
Zinnia Dahlia is a tall plant. It is great for decorating flower beds and flower beds. It goes well with undersized flowers, shrubs, perennials and annuals. You can plant decorative rugs around the flower. Zinnia Dahlia - a real star of any flower garden or front garden.
For elite registration of a personal plot, the Gavrish variety or the zinnia California giant is used. This is a northern variety. Its flowering is plentiful and long, the flowers are resistant to direct sunlight, the bushes grow up to one meter, in the circumference of the basket they reach 15 cm.
Grade Gavrish
Chrysanthemum
These zinnias are stunted, they can be used for flower beds, rabatok. Also used to decorate balconies and containers. They are resistant to gusts of wind, drafts, flowering is usually plentiful, continuous. Groups of such plants look especially beautiful.
Pompoms
This zinnia is large-flowered, it looks great both in a group of plants with smaller flowers, and as the main decoration of a flower bed or a rabatka.
Fantasy
It is a rare variety, rarely used for cultivation in our latitudes. Also, a mixture of this variety can be used to create flower beds, to decorate arbors and arches.
Designers recommend following a few tips in order to create the most spectacular composition:
- it is best to use this plant for planting in a group;
- to create a mixborder, it is recommended to select tall varieties, and for border compositions it is preferable to choose low-growing varieties;
- It is recommended to combine with asters, marigolds, calendula, bell, chamomile and chrysanthemum;
- you can use types of zinnia for the linear separation of vegetable beds, with single bushes you can draw a line for a personal plot, garden.
Other types of zinnia
Narrow-leaved
This variety is endemic to Mexico. Key features are as follows:
- annual;
- zinnia height - up to 40 cm;
- elongated foliage, length reaches 6 cm;
- small inflorescences - in a circle up to 4 cm;
- the color of the inflorescence is bright orange, with a red border;
- flowering period - the second decade of June to the end of September.
The most favorite varieties among summer residents and gardeners are:
- Glorionshine. Branched dwarf shrub, height reaches 23 cm, in the center the petals are orange, red on the edge;
- Persian Carpet. It is distinguished by two-color petals - red and lemon, it is customary to use it as a groundcover.
Fine color or linearis
The main characteristics include:
- height - up to 55 cm;
- the bush is small in size, the stems are thin, have a slightly reddish tint;
- inflorescences are small - up to three centimeters in a circle.
Linearis is a low-growing bush zinnia, grows up to 20 cm, small leaves are densely located on the stems, small flowers are yellow. This zinnia yellow is used in a group of plants, as a groundcover.
Linearis
Popular varieties of undersized zinnias
Liliput
The bush is compact, reaches a height of half a meter. Small leaves are abundantly located on the stems, the inflorescences are small in size. In shape, they are similar to small pompons, so zinnia Liliput is also called Pompom.
Little Red Riding Hood (Rotcopchen)
This is a zinnia undersized, annual. Main characteristics:
- bushy inflorescences, painted in a rich scarlet or cherry shade;
- height reaches 20 cm;
- inflorescence circumference - 4 cm;
- characterized by increased sensitivity to low temperatures;
- flowering is plentiful and long.
Variety Little Red Riding Hood
Zinnia Tom-Thumb
This zinnia terry, has the following characteristics:
- miniature bushes, grow no more than 30 cm in height;
- the color of the inflorescences is scarlet, it does not fade in the sun;
- inflorescences in shape are slightly flat;
- the petals are very densely arranged;
- the flowering period lasts from the second decade of June to the end of September.
Zinnia Short Staff
This variety is one of the undersized, characterized in that:
- bushes grow no more than 20 cm in height;
- stems densely dotted with inflorescences;
- inflorescence circumference - up to 10 cm;
- color - cherry, coral, red, white.
Do not confuse with a flower - Zinia Zahara.
The use of undersized zinnia for decorative purposes
With the design of spectacular flower beds, gardens, squares, front gardens, it is almost impossible to do without undersized plants. Decorators have successfully used undersized varieties of zinnia to decorate rabatki, borders, flower beds, mixborders, rock gardens, rockeries, compositions.
Important! They can act as a dominant plant (for example, when decorating a carpet flowerbed) or be the background for larger flowers, shrubs and shrubs.
Zinnia is diverse, it can be successfully combined with a wide range of annuals, if you choose the right color scheme. It goes well with flowers painted in blue, blue, for example, with sage, ageratum, delphinium. The tropical mood is created thanks to the composition with castor oil, cannes. It can also be used as extras, until perennial plants and shrubs grow. Bright and colorful colors perfectly decorate the garden. They can complement existing flower beds and create new ones. These plants are convenient for their unpretentiousness to the conditions of growth and to the rules of care.
Flowerbed decoration
Zinnia Graceful: features of cultivation in the garden
This plant is photophilous, planting it should be carried out taking into account these features. The first frosts are fatal. To ensure long and abundant flowering, it is necessary to properly prepare the soil substrate. Nutrients must be added to it, to ensure a neutral reaction. Having chosen a site for landing, it is dug up. Then, a mixture is introduced into the soil: superphosphate, potassium sulfate, nitroammophosk are taken in equal parts.
It is better to choose well-lit areas for the growth of zinnia, which are reliably protected from sudden gusts of wind. It does not tolerate an excess of moisture in the soil, and drought is also fatal. Watering should be moderate as the soil dries.
Why does zinnia have small flowers? - The cause of this problem may be a prolonged lack of soil moisture. It is recommended to apply organic and mineral fertilizers not only during planting, but also throughout the growing season.
Important! In total, there must be at least three top dressings. For this, you can use wood ash, preparations Agrokon, Bud.
Planting is carried out using seeds. They are collected at the end of the flowering period. Seeds can be planted in open ground after the morning frost, or seedlings can be grown on the windowsill by planting them in peat pots. Then plant the seedlings in the soil.
A variety of colors, unpretentiousness to the conditions of cultivation and care, many different varieties for decorating a personal plot - this is what makes zinnia so popular among flower growers.
