Vancouver Island on the Westcoast of Canada.

While we started our journey to grow food, it soon became apparent that the bees didn’t know we were here. So, we began growing for the bees, pollinators, butterflies, birds, and one of our favorites: hummingbirds. Not only are they essential to growing food, but they each play an important role in creating a healthy ecosystem in every garden.

50 Giant Cherry Queen Zinnia seeds

Florist Benary’s Giant Zinnia seeds 

Easy to grow Annual

36-48”

Edible leaves and flowers

Medicinal uses 

Cut Flowers Bouquet 

Huge 5-6” Flower Heads Draw 100’s of Pollinators 

One of the largest-flowered varieties of zinnias available, ‘ Giant Benary’s’  produce huge dahlia-like flowering heads 5-6” with tall stems in large double blooms. This is the earliest flowering variety. Giant zinnia are long blooming ,with strong stems and  excellent disease resistance. 

Picking off the dead flowers (deadheading) will prolong the bloom time, but so will cutting them for bouquets. The colors are brilliant and the stems are strong and upright, perfect for cutting.

Harvesting/Vase Life:

Grab the stem about 8” below the flower and gently shake. If the stem is droopy or bends much at all, it is not quite ready to cut. If the stem is stiff and remains erect, it is ready to harvest. If flower preservative is added to the water, zinnias should last 7-10 days in the vase.

Plant Zinnias seeds in average, well-drained garden soil, but dig in a generous amount of well-rotted manure, Pinch off growing tips when 12” tall early in the season for bushier growth. Water regularly, keeping leaves as dry as possible. Deadhead regularly. Feed once in early spring, and again once flowering has begun., 75-90 days to maturity

Direct sow after last frost, in April and May on the coast. Just cover Zinnia seeds, and aim for a final spacing of 25-30cm (10-12″) between plants. Zinnias don’t transplant well, but you can try starting some indoors in peat or coir pots 6-8 weeks before planting out .Start seed indoors in trays 4-6 weeks before last frost; transplant out after all danger of frost has passed.  Maintain a soil temperature of 21-26°C (70-80°F). Seeds should germinate in 5-24 days.