Zinnias are super colorful flowers that come in almost every color of the rainbow, including pink, red, orange, yellow, purple, and even green! They come in many different shapes too. Some look like little daisies, while others have so many petals they look like fuzzy pom-poms. Zinnias originally come from Mexico and Central America, where they grow wild in sunny meadows. They are named after a scientist called Johann Zinn, who studied them a long time ago. A zinnia was even the first flower ever grown in outer space on the International Space Station!
Zinnias are one of the easiest flowers for kids to grow from seeds because they sprout quickly and love the hot summer sun. You can plant a seed and see a baby plant pop up in less than a week! Butterflies especially love to visit zinnias because their flat, wide centers make a perfect landing pad for a butterfly to sit and sip nectar. The more you pick zinnia flowers, the more new flowers the plant grows, so you can keep making beautiful bouquets all summer long. Zinnias keep blooming until the first frost of fall comes along.
