Crouching Tiger Zinnia Seeds

Fleuroselect Novelty Award 2015

Beautiful, bicolor, and double-flowered, Crouching Tiger Zinnia is simply a must-have for the sunny annual bed and your best containers. This fantastic zinnia fills any spot with rich, changeable color that begins showing less than 3 months after the seeds are sown. For quick coverage that just won't quit, rely on the most versatile zinnia we have ever grown.

Most zinnias are considered either landscaping types (such as Profusion) or cutting varieties (such as Park's Picks). But Crouching Tiger Zinnia (and its partner, Hidden Dragon) is more versatile: it looks terrific in the garden and keeps its healthy foliage right up to frost yet is also ideal for the vase. Best of all, Crouching Tiger Zinnia flowers gradually acquire their double set of petals, so they sport several different looks as they mature. At any given moment, the newly opened blooms will be single daisies, while others have an elegant ruff around their central cone, and the most "mature" will be full, petal-packed pompons.

These 3-inch blooms are gorgeous and long-lasting. Crouching Tiger Zinnia sports deep red petals tipped in yellow, so the new blooms are nicely bicolored, while the fully double mature blooms have only peekaboo streaks of red visible among the froth of yellow tips. You'll love how the look and color pattern changes with each day of bloom—and you can cut the flowers at any stage to preserve your favorite "look" for the vase.

Crouching Tiger Zinnia is completely uniform in size and bloom time. These plants reach about 2 feet high in full bloom and spread a foot or so wide. They begin blooming just 9 to 12 weeks after sowing and continue as long as the hot weather and regular watering keep coming. So easy, and such a long season of glory.

This beautiful zinnia has been awarded a 2015 Fleuroselect Novelty Award, Europe's highest honor for flowers from seed. The judges felt that its earlier bloom time, versatile landscape/cutting habit, and big lovely double blooms were absolutely unsurpassed, and we have to agree. For a big show, rely on Crouching Tiger Zinnia, with or without its Hidden Dragon.

Zinnias are among the easiest of all plants to grow from seed. Wait until the soil is warm to direct sow the seeds into a sunny, well-drained garden spot or your best containers. For an even quicker display, begin the seeds in the Bio Dome or seed flats in late winter, transplanting as soon as the seedlings have 2 sets of true leaves and the weather has warmed outdoors. Keep the plants watered and make sure they get lots of sun. That's really all there is to it.