Zinnia Zahara Double Fire

The bedding Zinnia of our dreams, the Zahara series was introduced in 2009 and immediately became famous for its resistance to mildew and leaf spot, its nonstop blooms, and its larger flower size. This plant stands up to punishing conditions so beautifully that it was planted at the Beijing Olympics site (and boy, did it ever get noticed!) Now we're delighted to announce a double-flowered cherryorange, red, and gold combo that will steal the thunder in any setting you choose for it. It has just won a 2010 AAS award, and it's waiting to transform your sunny garden into a fiery glow of brilliant color! These blooms are fully 2 ½ inches wide, and there's more of them -- they pop up all over super-compact plants, drawing bees and butterflies into the garden and absolutely wowing those hot, dry beds and water-starved containers. They're not really grown for cutflowers, but you'll find yourself picking plenty for bouquets . . . and why not? New flowers will open to replace them double-quick!

Renowned for its ability to withstand heat, humidity, drought, and just about anything else, the Zahara series is the first bedding Zinnia that can truly claim to be disease-resistant. Mildew is a traditional enemy of the Zinnia, but Zahara's got it licked! (Or should we say "dried"?!) Luckily, it's also very long-blooming, prepared to continue well into autumn as long as the hot weather holds. What a joy!

This is the annual you'll want along that baking-hot driveway or cement path, crowding against the house (the walls reflect heat), and beautifying the patio (which never gets watered often enough). Just 8 to 12 inches high and wide, it can be planted a bit more closely than other bedding Zinnias, again thanks to the mildew resistance. No need to worry about the foliage "touching"!

Direct-sow the seeds. When the soil has already warmed and spring is well underway, this plant will flower within 5 to 6 weeks of sowing. But if you want to get an earlier start, or if that hot April turns into a chilly May, no fear -- Zahara Double Fire will grow vigorously all the same, and simply wait for the warm weather before blooming! Why can't all plants be this cooperative? No wonder it won an AAS award! Pkt is 25 seeds.