Planting: Plant zinnias in spring after all danger of frost has passed, around the same time you'd plant tomatoes. Zinnias are easy to grow directly-seeded into the garden. For sooner blooms, start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost date.

Zinnias are annuals, so they'll grow for one season and produce seeds, but the original plant will not come back in subsequent years. They have bright, solitary, daisy-like flowerheads on a single, erect stem, which makes them great for use as a cutting flower or as food for butterflies.

Even the planting process is easy. I put down fresh mulch, then sprinkle the Zinnia seeds where I want them. I don't worry about spacing or anything, I just scatter them. When the seeds are down, I sprinkle just a little more mulch over the area for cover.

Seeds from open-pollinated plants, though, will grow true to the parent plant, so it makes sense to harvest those seeds. The following zinnia varieties are open-pollinated, meaning they will grow to look the same as the parent plants from which their seeds came: Green Envy. Cactus Bright Jewels.. . . . .364011233748!]0000000000000009783314147171!]