Gardeners Are Swapping Dahlias for This Tough, Heat-Loving Annual – It's More Drought-Tolerant and Much Easier to Grow

If you're new to the joys of zinnias, they might be just what your garden needs, and an easier alternative to trickier dahlias. While dahlias have been a backyard favorite for many years, there's no doubting their diva credentials. Growing them is a labor of love and often those flamboyant blooms fail to deliver after months of care and attention. They may well have had their day.

Zinnias, on the other hand, are some of the easiest hardy annuals to grow from seed. And they pack just as much color punch as dahlias. They're similar in size and just as versatile in the backyard, being perfect for all kinds of pots – planted solo or in combination with other container specimens – as well as in borders. The bright, jewel-like colors of zinnias can fill a yard from June to the first frosts. They're also nectar-rich magnets for a whole host of beneficial pollinators.

If I've piqued your interest and you're keen to know how to grow zinnias – either as well as or instead of dahlias – then you might want to start by ordering this beautiful zinnia seed mix from Amazon. Here I've given you all you need to for zinnia success, including how to sow, grow and combine them for a gorgeous contemporary display. I'm convinced they'll soon take top spot in your list of easy-care backyard color bombs.

The Trouble with Dahlias

I bought a dozen dahlias last summer and invested many hours of work, potting them up, saving them from slugs and snails, watering, feeding, moving them around, and staking them.

I can't deny, the flowers were lovely, but not nearly as prolific as I'd hoped. This summer, not even half of them came back, even though I'd lifted the tubers, stored them correctly and planted them into rich, free-draining soil in spring.

Growing and caring for dahlias is labor intensive. And molluscs adore them. In fact, the first time I grew dahlias I was convinced my tubers were duds as, after weeks languishing in their perfect soil, no shoots had appeared.

It took me a while to realise that in fact they were growing, but as fast as they were shooting the snails were shearing off those shoots. Then followed a period of intense vigilance, when I moved the pots to an outdoor table and checked them three or four times a day, picking off any snails by hand.

After a month or two of green growth, they finally produced flowers, but to be honest not as many as I'd hoped for. The dahlias I'd put in borders began to flop, so stakes went in (too late to be honest; the stems are brittle, so I lost a few when I was manhandling them onto the stakes).

And with the dry summer, the dahlias in pots needed watering daily. And deadheading of course, which can be a bit trickier than you'd imagine with dahlias as the spent flowerheads looks so similar to emerging buds (top tip: deadhead the pointed ones; the buds are rounder and firmer).

In fall, I dug up the tubers, dried them off and stored them upside down on trays of newspaper in the shed. (The previous time I'd grown dahlias I'd left them in my borders but not one survived, so I wasn't about to repeat that experience.)

Then I began the whole process again last spring, bearing in mind all the places you should never plant dahlias. To add insult to injury, not even half came back to life. It's a lot of work growing dahlias.

Next summer, yes, I'll be coaxing my dahlias back into life in spring but I'm also going to grow a load of zinnias alongside them. It'll be an experiment to see which I prefer, and which give me more time actually enjoying their blooms instead of pampering them and coaxing the plants into flower. Which will come out top? Traditional dahlias or bright and breezy zinnias?

Why You'll Love Zinnias

Zinnias are native to the dry grasslands stretching from South America all the way up to Southwestern US. There are all kinds of species but the ones we tend to grow in our backyards are the upright annuals with their colorful daisy-like flowers in a huge range of shades from white to lime green, yellow and orange to deep red, lilac and purple.

They flower from early summer to the end of fall. They vary in height from 12in (30cm) for dwarf varieties to 4ft (1.2m) for the tallest of the bunch.

So, how to grow zinnias? Like dahlias, zinnias need a spot in full sun to thrive. They also need good well-draining soil, so avoid heavy, wet earth and shade. Pollinators adore the single-flowered types, so you'll be doing your backyard biodiversity a favor by growing these nectar-rich flowers. They're one of the top butterfly picks too.

In pots, zinnias will thrive, and they also make great filler plants for gaps in borders, where their tall, slim growth means you can shoehorn them in pretty much anywhere.

They also make lovely cut flowers with a long vase life, with one caveat: their stems are hollow and easily damaged so make sure you cut them with a nice sharp pair of secateurs, like these from diminutive Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Shears from Home Depot. The flowers last so long – both outdoors and in – that the Japanese call them the '100-day flower'.

The best time to sow zinnia seeds is in late spring, and this is key. They need warm soil 70-80°F (20-26°C) to germinate well, so don't be tempted to start them off too early – there's nothing to be gained.

Direct sowing, where you want them to flower, is the best route, forking some good compost into the soil. They should germinate in 2-3 weeks. Even better, try successional sowing, starting a small batch off every week for a month to six weeks.

Once your zinnia seedlings are big enough to handle, do thin them out to around 15in (38cm) apart After that, leave the fertilizer alone or you'll get lots of green growth at the expense of flowers.

As the seedlings grow, you may need to protect them at night with horticultural fleece or a cloche, if temperatures threaten to drop drastically.

Another important step is pinching out. Do this as the first buds are forming (I know, it's brutal, but for the best!), when they're around 8-12in (20-30cm) tall, and you'll double your blooms. This first cut will make your plants produce stronger stems and loads of lovely sideshoots, leading to bushier plants with more flowers.

One last tip: water your container plants correctly. With zinnias that means from the bottom, avoiding the foliage, to avoid mildew. Growing your zinnias in pots with their own saucers, like this one from Amazon, makes this so much easier.

Once your zinnias are in flower, like all annuals (and plenty of perennials too), keep deadheading those spent blooms and you'll be rewarded with more flowers.

Zinnia Varieties to Try

Which are the best zinnia varieties to grow? There are so many that it's hard to choose: big, small; dainty single flowers, huge ruffled pompoms; acid green, fuchsia pink, pertty ice cream pastels... I've narrowed down my options to a handful that will give me color, a bit of blousy fun and plenty of single-flowered easy nectar for the pollinators.

A top pick for me is 'Purple Prince'. It's an heirloom dahlia-flowered variety with the RHS Award of Garden Merit, so I know it'll do well here in the UK (and likely elsewhere). Its flowers are of the most intense rose purple, with yellow centres and it reaches around 3ft (90cm) tall.

With 'Purple Prince' I'm going to grow a fresh lime green one – the two are going to look amazing side by side. 'Envy' has semi double flowers and reaches around 12in (30cm). I'm picturing them in a vase already – a joyful riot of color.

Essential in my view are some single-flowered varieties, which are best for pollinators. 'Raspberry Lemonade' is a mixture of pink, yellow and white ice cream colors that will look lovely in a mixed vase. It's a compact variety growing to around 15in (40cm), so hopefully it won't need anything to help prop it up.

Even if I manage all of these seed varieties, I'll be spending much less than buying the equivalent in new dahlia tubers, so as well as all the flowers, there will be savings to be pleased about too.

Buy Zinnia 'Purple Prince' at Burpee.

Buy Zinnia 'Envy' at Burpee.

Buy Zinnia 'Raspberry Lemonade' at Burpee.

Browse the zinnia collection at True Leaf Market.

What to Shop

I'm excited to begin my dahlia vs. zinnia experiment next spring, and keen to welcome a new addition to my containers and borders. Whichever varieties I grow I know I'll have weeks of long-lasting blooms, bright and beautiful flowers, and a backyard humming with beneficial pollinators.

I might even free up one of my raised beds, which I usually dedicate to veg-growing, for the zinnias. That way I'll have my own little cutting garden, and I can snip away all summer, filling the house with vibrant color. Now that's something to look forward to…

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