Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Short Stuff™ Series

Brand:  Syngenta

Description:

A heat tolerant series featuring a uniform and compact mounded habit, perfect for small garden spaces, containers and balconies; large, 3" , bold and brightly colored blooms rise above lush green foliage; excellent addition to cut flower arrangements

Ornamental Features

Short Stuff™ Scarlet Zinnia features bold scarlet pincushion flowers with yellow anthers at the ends of the stems from mid spring to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its pointy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Short Stuff™ Scarlet Zinnia is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Short Stuff™ Scarlet Zinnia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Short Stuff™ Scarlet Zinnia will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Short Stuff™ Scarlet Zinnia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.