Cupcake Zinnias Are The New Floral Trend But Do They Live Up To The Hype?

Zinnias are one of the most popular annual flowers because they come in a full range of bright, cheerful colors and are easy to grow. They seem to inspire creativity in botanists, given the almost endless supply of hybrids and cultivars available. Cupcake zinnias (Zinnia elegans) are a fun, trendy flower series that's gaining in popularity. They produce fluffy, double blooms that grow in a mound in the middle of the flower, surrounded by a single layer of petals at the bottom, reminiscent of the shape of a cupcake.

These garden stunners also make excellent cut flowers. You can get them in several varieties. The 'Zinderella' variety is available in colors such as bright orange, peach, lilac, white, and red. The 'Candy' variety also produces pompom-like blooms and grows in a mix of colors, including orange, pink, red, and white. If your garden has a vintage cottage look, you may prefer the 'Cresto!' variety, which comes in muted, pastel shades of cream, salmon, and pink.

All of the seed catalog pictures of cupcake zinnias show gorgeous blooms with full, lush petals that make the flowers seem worth the premium price tag. Unfortunately, when you start reading the reviews and the experiences of people who've planted them, the results are often disappointing. The biggest complaints are that the seeds either don't come up at all or only produce single-petal flowers. In tests, cupcake zinnia are among the lowest-yield varieties. When they do produce, you'll generally get the most abundant blooms from the first crop. To avoid stunting your flowers, be on the lookout for common zinnia problems you shouldn't ignore.

The temperature may be one of the biggest factors in whether your cupcake zinnias will display those show-stopping double blooms. If you grow them in cooler weather, you may be able to increase the number of pompom-shaped flowers. In areas where the temperatures soar, the best time of year to plant zinnia seeds may be earlier than you normally do. You may also want to choose varieties that have a higher rate of double blooms, such as the 'Cresto!' variety. No matter which you choose, follow the best practices for how to grow and care for zinnias.