Say hello to 'Queeny Lime Orange' zinnia, this week's #FloralFriday pick and an 2018 AAS Flower Winner that I fell in love with during a trip to California last August as an National Garden Bureau Plant Nerd (#ngbplantnerd). After seeing this zinnia in the trial gardens (and hoping desperately it would win so the seeds would be available for sale), I knew I would have to grow it in my garden.
I started the seeds indoors (a little later than I had planned) at the end of May and they quickly sprouted under my grow lights. Three weeks later, I hardened them off and planted them out in their permanent location on June 24.
This year I started 88 seeds, with the majority going in that front garden bed. The plants have easily hit the two foot mark by this point and receive full sun.
And when they started to bloom, I was surprised to find that the colors were muted.
But as the flowers matured over the days, the shades deepened.
The butterflies and bees both adore these flowers. The plants began to really take off and flower about a month after I planted them out, and in the last two weeks the colors have been deepening and evolving with a more rose pink hue in the bottom petals.
Which it is starting to do in my garden (updated 8/13/18, with photo below):
I'm really looking forward to seeing the colors continue to change, with this end result, as I saw in California:
I plan to keep watching and photographing this zinnias as the growing season continues. Are you growing this zinnia in your garden this year?
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